In the Dark, No One Can Hear You Scream
by gossipgirl1031
Summary: Booth and Bones are assigned to work undercover on a serial killer case. Will they be able to catch him and stop the murders? Booth & Brennan. EPILOGUE NOW UP! COMPLETE!
1. Preface

_Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I hope you all enjoy it. All reviews and feedback, good or bad, are welcomed and appreciated. This is my first Bones fanfic and my second one ever written or published. It will be several chapters long (my first turned out to be 23 and I am hoping for similar length in this one). I will try to update as often as possible, especially if I get some reviews! Enjoy! Oh, I also do not own Bones or anything affiliated with it._

_Author's Note: I dedicate this story to Ryan, who no matter how many times he may fall along the way, he always has the strength and determination to get up and try again._

**Preface**

It was night. A little after two in the morning to be more exact. A pick up truck drove down the deserted two lane highway leading out from Kiawah Island, South Carolina and heading back towards the Charleston area. This was the same routine he had performed many times before.

Another body was stashed in the bed of the truck, wrapped up in a sheet just like the others before her. No matter how many times he had performed the pattern over and over, he was unable to have the deceased victims ride in the cab with him. It made him feel as if what he was doing was wrong. And he just could not have that, not when what he was doing had such an important meaning behind it.

A deer stumbled out into the middle of the road and he barely managed to swerve the truck around it and avoiding hitting it. The body rolled around in the bed with a sickening thud.

He had almost reached his destination. Every time, there was a new location. All were along this main stretch of road. Some strayed further out, well past the thick trees with their overhanging branches, while others could be found right alongside the road. Every dump site though, was away from any residence.

Tonight's location was another condemned building. There were lots of them along this stretch of road after countless hurricanes had driven their proprietors away from them. He parked the truck, grabbing the lantern and duffel bag he always kept in the cab when it was a kill night and headed towards the abandoned home. Walking towards the building, he switched the lantern on. The visibility was poor tonight. A thick blanket of fog had crept over the low-lying area and made getting to the building without tripping on the debris a challenge. Thankfully, the house was not too far from the road.

After climbing in through a wall that was only partially standing, he left the lantern inside on what was left of the floor. Carefully, he made his way back to the truck and lifted the girl out. She was not too heavy and had no problem carrying her to the house. Once inside, he unwrapped her from the sheet and stripped off what was left of her clothing, stashing them in an empty black garbage bag. When he got home, he would put them into more proper storage, just like he done with the other girls clothing and personal effects.

He then took a meat cleaver and hacked off the victim's hands. He tossed them into the woods, knowing that by the time they were discovered, it would be hard pull any prints off them. He knew it wouldn't stop the identification process, but it always managed to slow it down. Even though blood stopped pumping when the victim had died, blood poured out of the area where her hands had been. He took a medium sized paint brush out of the bag and used the victim's own blood to spell out in large letters on what remained of the wall ALONE.

Satisfied that the scene was set, the killer gathered up his things and headed back to the truck. He put his supplies away and got inside. As he drove off, he wondered how long it would be this time before the body would be discovered. He didn't have to wait too long. In just three days, the body had been discovered.

It was then that the local authorities realized that they were in over their heads. It was time to call in someone more specialized to track down the killer and put a stop to the panic he had placed on the small island community and it's surrounding areas. For years, Kiawah had been a sleepy family residential area. Now, the entire community was afraid of who would become the next victim of the Night Stalker. No one would go anywhere by themselves, especially at night because that was when he struck. He never abducted during the day as far as they knew, only at night. That was when Special Agent Seeley Booth was called in to the case.

_Sorry if this chapter seems short, but it's just the preface and not a real chapter. The next one will be longer, I promise. Booth and Bones enter the story in the next chapter. Please review and let me know what you think and if I should continue. I also welcome any ideas you would like to see incorporated into the story. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 1

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you like the story so far. Booth and Brennan are actually in this chapter, unlike the preface. Some back round info on the Night Stalker will also be revealed in this chapter. Still do not own Bones. Enjoy the first real chapter!_

_Author's Note: Kiawah Island is a real place. I have been there only once, but it left a real impact on me. I actually have driven down the road at night that the Night Stalker dumps his victims on and thought what a cool place it would be to write a scary story about. It's only now 7 months later that I have a plot to go along with the idea. The Sanctuary also really exists. I haven't been inside, but our condo was only a short walk away from it and you could see it from the beach. It's beautiful. Also, to the best of my knowledge, there was never a serial killer that terrorized the community, the Night Stalker lives only in my head and this story. _

_Oh boy, she is not going to be happy about this one_. Special Agent Seeley Booth thought to himself stepping out of his superior's office. He had just been given his next assignment. A serial killer was terrorizing a small rural island community 45 minutes or so outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Kiawah Island was a small mainly residential area. A lot of wealthy families owned second homes out there. It was also fast becoming a popular vacation getaway. A recent addition to Kiawah was the Sanctuary, a new luxury hotel that drew many new tourists to the island.

The serial killer, nicknamed the Night Stalker by the FBI and the press had already killed ten women in the last month. The local authorities were having a difficult time identifying all the bodies and keeping the residents safe. So, far all the victims were women in their mid to late twenties with brown hair with medium height and build. He abducted them only at night. He then raped and murdered them. He dumped the bodies along the main road that led in and out of the island.

Homes were spaced pretty far apart with lots of open land between them. Scattered along the road were also plenty of buildings that had been ravaged by hurricanes that hit the island. It was a perfect location for a serial killer to dump the bodies without being caught in the act. Booth assumed this was the main reason the killer hadn't been caught yet.

Booth had been assigned to the case. Not just him, but Bones as well. They were to go undercover as a newlywed couple on their honeymoon and investigate the murders. Bones' physical description matched those of the other victims and she could be a lure to draw the killer out of hiding so that they could hopefully catch him.

She had been less than thrilled about going to L.A. just a few weeks before. He was hoping that being able to be more involved in the case would appease her. Maybe if all went well, he would let her get that gun that she had been wanting since she had become more and more of his partner.

Well, he would find out soon enough what her reaction would be. He was on his way to tell her now. He had already cleared everything with her boss, but he was leaving it up to Booth to tell Dr. Brennan about the change in her plans.

Dr. Temperance Brennan was alone in her office at the Jeffersonian. She was busy reading her e-mail when Booth walked in, interrupting her peace and quiet.

"Bones, it's your lucky day" he said enthusiastically trying to catch her interest.

"And exactly why is that Booth?" she said uninterested, not looking up from her computer screen.

"Just when you got all your clothes put away, it's time to pack them again."

Now he had her interest. She looked up at him. "Why am I packing my bags again so soon after coming back from L.A.? I do have work to do here at the museum Booth."

"Don't you like the beach Bones?" he asked trying to warm her up to the subject.

"It's nice-what about it?"

"We are going to an island with a beautiful beach. Think of the fun in the sun we'll have. Oh and we get to go undercover and solve a serial killer case. Sounds great doesn't it? Okay, you go home and get packed. We leave tomorrow morning." He quickly spun around and attempted to escape before she let him have it. No such luck.

"No way! Undercover? Booth I'm not sure that's a good idea. I'm not FBI and don't know the first thing about undercover work. And, I'm busy. I have too much work that needs to be done here. That's the priority."

"Not according to your boss. He already has arranged for you to be out of the office. So, for once, just please don't fight me on this and go home and pack. We have an early flight tomorrow."

"Will you at least tell me what the case is about and what my involvement will be in it?"

"Tomorrow, on the flight down there I'll tell you everything you want to know."

She let out a sigh, defeated. "Fine, I'll see you tomorrow Booth."

"I'll pick you up here at 7:00 in the morning. That way, you don't have to leave your car parked at the airport while we are gone. See ya tomorrow Bones." he said and smiled at her in his adorable way before turning around and walking out the door.

After he left, she started to get a little excited at the idea of undercover work and spending a lot of time with Booth. Sure, he could be annoying sometimes, but he was definitely growing on her. When he had smiled at her just then, it had taken her breath away.

_Stop_ she thought to herself. _You can't get involved with him. It would be too weird_. And she didn't even know if he liked her in the way she knew she was starting to like him. He had been seeing Tessa after all who was nothing like her. There was no way he liked her that way.

Well, if nothing else came out of this, maybe she would finally at least be able to earn that gun she had been wanting.

_So, what did you think? Worth continuing? Please review and let me know what you like and don't like._


	3. Chapter 2

_Here's the next chapter. In this one, Brennan learns exactly what her undercover assignment is. How does she react? How does Booth break the news to her? Read on to find out! I am blown away by the amount of reviews I've gotten so far. That's so cool! You guys rock! Please keep it up, it makes me want to get the next chapter posted right away. Thanks!_

_Author's Note: I'm not sure how far a drive from the Jeffersonian the airport is, so I had to take a little creative license there. Sorry if it's not accurate. Also, still do not own Bones even though I would like to._

By the time Temperance showed up the next morning at the Jeffersonian, Booth had already been waiting 10 minutes. She pulled her brand new Mustang convertible into the parking spot next to his SUV. Booth was a little surprised to see her car. She must really have liked the convertible they had been riding around L.A. in.

"Sorry I'm late, I didn't realize how hard it was to cram luggage into one of these. Did you know that half the trunk is taken up with the space for the top to go down?"

He got out of his SUV and headed around to the back of her to car to help her unload her luggage. Brennan was impressed and a little embarrassed. He wouldn't let her load any of the luggage. He insisted on doing it for her. _What a gentleman_ she thought to herself as she watched him hoisting her heavy bags into the trunk. Little butterflies floated around in her stomach once again as she thought about the time they would be spending together on the next assignment. Working side by side on a homicide case was definitely not romantic, but they usually managed to have at least a little fun when they weren't working.

The drive to the airport was spent mostly in comfortable silence with the only sounds being the morning show on the radio. Booth hadn't wanted to start discussing the case too much yet, because the drive to the airport was not too far and he didn't like to be interrupted once he got into the details. He also didn't want her to have the option of backing out once she knew how she would be involved. He figured once they were in the air, she would have no choice but to go along with the plan.

When they reached the airport, once again he wouldn't let her move any of the luggage. After finding one of those carts you could push through the airport and clearing security all that was left to do was wait for the plane. When their flight was called, the boarded and the plane took off without incident. By the time the fasten seatbelt signs had been turned off, Booth was ready to talk.

"Booth, are you ever going to tell me why I am here instead of another agent. I'm a little nervous about the undercover thing. Why would they want to use me?"

"Well, Bones, you match the physical description of all the Night Stalker's victims. They are planning on using you as a lure so that we can catch him."

"What! You guys are going to use me as bait? How do you know that he won't kidnap and kill me too?"

"Because I am going to be by your side 100 of the time. We are going undercover as a newlywed couple on their honeymoon."

"A newlywed couple with separate hotel rooms?"

"Bones, you really don't know a lot about undercover work do you? We have to pretend to be married and madly in love with one another. We will be sharing a room at the luxury 5 star hotel, The Sanctuary. Apparently it is a popular choice for honeymooners. Quite a few of the Night Stalker's victims were also taken from there, so he may have a connection to it."

He paused, reaching into his jacket pocket and removing a small box. "So, now that you know why you are being included, will you be my pretend wife for the duration of the case?" he opened the box and held it up for her. Brennan took a deep breath in and brought her hand to her chest in surprise. Inside was a beautiful platinum wedding band.

"Don't get too excited, it's on loan. Do you really think the FBI would spring for this kind of ring?

She laughed and nodded yes, still too shocked to speak. _Too bad it's not real_ a little voice in the back of her mind whispered.

Booth took the ring from it's box and slipped it onto her left hand.

"Did they get you one too?" she asked. He took out another box and opened it for her. "Do you want to do the honors?"

"Well, I guess I should seeing as we need to make this as real as possible." She took the ring out and placed it on his left hand too. Booth's heart started to beat a little faster as she slipped the band of platinum onto his ring finger.

Both sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes thinking about what this assignment would mean. They had feelings for each other, but neither had made the first move to take things any further. Now they had to pretend to be in love. How was that going to work? Would it change their relationship?

The rest of the flight was uneventful. Brennan pulled out her laptop and began working. Booth started attacking the case files again. Every now and then they Brennan would glance down at the beautiful platinum ring that encircled her finger and wonder what it would be like to married to someone like Booth.

Booth had been trying so hard to concentrate on his files, but his mind kept wandering. He glanced over at Bones and saw her staring at the ring again. _What was she thinking? Was she as excited about this as he was?_ Maybe this could be the start of something for them and they could get over the dance they had been doing all throughout the fall and winter and move on to the next step.

_Stop getting ahead of yourself Booth _he thought to himself. _First, catch the serial killer and save_ _the day. Then maybe you can get the girl._

_Okay, that's all for now. To be continued. Did you like how Booth and Brennan handled the situation? Will Booth be able to keep her safe from the Night Stalker? What is the killer's connection to the Sanctuary? Will they be able to catch him before he kills any more women? Stay tuned! Please review and let me know any ideas you would like incorporated into the story. I'll try and post the next chapter Thursday, but I work late tomorrow and early on Friday, so we'll see. Thanks! _


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter three-enjoy! All the reviews have inspired me to get the next chapter written, even though I wasn't planning to with my long day today. I opened my account and was amazed at how many were in there. Thanks so much! Do not own Bones or anything that has to do with it._

By the end of the flight, Brennan was feeling more like herself. She had managed to push thoughts of Booth and their upcoming living arrangements out of her mind. It was time to focus on the case. She was not going to let a little crush keep her from doing her job properly.

They made their way through the small airport in Charleston. This was so different and laid back from Washington. The airport had only one main terminal. After collecting their luggage, they found the rental car station right away-it was right next to the baggage claim. This time, Booth hadn't been able to talk his way into getting the classic car. In order to keep up the façade that they were a wealthy couple who could afford to stay at a place like the Sanctuary, the FBI had sprung for a luxury car rental.

After Booth loaded the luggage into the car, they set off for Kiawah Island. In order to reach the island, they would have to drive along the same stretch of road that the Night Stalker used to discard of the remains of his victims. Since Booth had been assigned to the case, no more bodies had been discovered. Today was the fifth day that a body had not been discovered. With his insatiable appetite for murder, they knew it was only a matter of time before he killed again. For all they knew, maybe he already had. It sometimes took a few days for the remains to be discovered. A lot would depend on where he chose to dump the next body. It was a promising sign that no more abductions had been reported though.

As they drove further out Booth and Brennan noticed the sharp contrast in the area outside of the city. Charleston was a fairly decent sized city. Lots of businesses and homes. Absolutely stunning architecture. Booth decided that if he ever got a little bit of free time, he would have to explore the city a little bit. Not now though. Just a little way out to the island, the surroundings changed. Homes and businesses became more scattered. Lots of vegetation. Large trees with thick heavy branches hung over the road and ran the entire length down. It didn't seem too scary during the day but they both could see how it could be frightening at night.

They were approaching one of the crime scenes. Booth thought it would be a good idea to begin the investigation now. Once they assumed their new identities for the trip, it would be increasingly difficult to be able to get away and investigate without blowing their cover. As they pulled onto the side of the road, Brennan noticed the memorial that had been set up for the murdered girl. She had been identified late in the day yesterday. Flowers and pictures of her were set up by the condemned building. Booth noticed the similarities to Bones right away. She had almost the same color hair and eyes. Even a few facial features were similar. He began to worry more about her safety. _What if I can't protect her from this monster?_

They got out of the car and carefully made their way through the overgrown grass and up to the house. Booth and Brennan ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and stepped onto the porch. The front porch was caving in and both had to be careful where they placed their next steps. One wrong move would send them crashing through the rotting wood and down into god knows what beneath.

The first thing Brennan noticed as she took in the crime scene was the word ALONE spelled out along one of the walls. She went up closer to it, removed the digital camera from her bag and began to photograph it. Booth walked up behind her.

"It's her blood" he said quietly. "That's his calling card. After the victim has died, he removes the hands and uses the blood that comes out from the open wounds to paint that phrase somewhere in the crime scene."

Brennan didn't have anything to say to that. She walked along and began to study the area of what remained of the floor that the body had been laying on. Then she noticed something on the floor sticking to one of the splinters of wood.

"Booth come here' she said, motioning for him to join her.

"What is it Bones?"

"Do you see that?"

"What?" he said leaning in closer. Then he saw it too. Sticking to one of the pieces of splintered wood in what remained of the floor were a few fibers of some kind of cloth. He removed an evidence bag from his own bag and with a small pair of tweezers, removed the fibers and placed them in the evidence bag.

"I can't believe CSU missed this" she said shocked. "We need to have these analyzed, they might be able to tell us a little about our killer. They will need to be sent to the Jeffersonian. I want my team working on this. When we get checked into the hotel I can send the photos I've taken to Angela and have them analyzed. I also am going to need to be able to see the remains. Maybe our killer has left something else behind there too."

"Okay Bones. I'll see what I can do. We need to go checked into the hotel first, then we have a briefing in Charleston with the local FBI. Then, we should be able to stop at the medical examiner's office so you can examine the remains before they are released to her family."

They carefully made their way back to the car and drove to the hotel. They discussed the case a little more, but decided that what they really needed to do was discuss their cover story. Booth and Brennan spent most of the rest of the drive to the hotel arguing over details of their fake relationship. By the time they arrived, they had most of the story put together. They were as ready as they would ever be to be Mr. and Mrs. Sernicko.

_That's all for now. Sorry this chapter is a little short. I was kind of tired after today, but I really wanted to get this up for you guys. I have a few days off this weekend, so I am hoping to get a lot of writing done. Next chapter, Booth and Brennan begin their undercover work as fake husband and wife. How do you think that's going to work? Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 4

_In this chapter, Booth & Brennan face the first of many challenges of being a "married" couple. Will they be able to keep their cover or will their behavior give them away? Read on to find out! Still do not own Bones._

_Author's Note: I don't think I mentioned it before, but the story is set in early summer (June approximately). And a big thanks to the designers of the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island's website. It has been most helpful, as I have never been in the building. They have wonderful descriptions and photos. I have been inspired to start saving money to check that out the next time I pass through Charleston. _

As Booth pulled the car up to the front of the hotel, they were both taken aback by the beauty of it. Neither had ever been to a place this nice. Booth was delighted at the accommodations for this assignment after he had seen what the Jeffersonian allowed for Bones. This was a big step up. He could definitely get used to this.

They dropped the car off and made their way inside. A doorman held the door open and Booth tried not to let his jaw drop too noticeably when they entered the building. Luxury surrounded them completely from every angle. The check in desk was at the other end of the lobby. Booth approached it first. The girl at the desk greeted them warmly.

"Welcome to the Sanctuary. What can I do for you today?"

"We are checking in. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Sernicko."

"Yes Mr. Sernicko I have your reservation here. May I ask what brings you to our island? Business or pleasure?"

"Oh, definitely pleasure" he said slyly snaking an arm around Brennan's waist and drawing her closer to him. "We are here on our honeymoon." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

At his unexpected gesture of affection she instinctively jumped back and gave him a Look. Then she remembered that she was a newlywed and that was how she supposed they should act. They were supposed to be in love. The girl looked at them with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Don't mind my beautiful wife. The wedding had been a really big affair with a lot to plan and take care of. My sweetie did a wonderful job on it though. Then our flight in experienced quite a bit of turbulence. She didn't handle it very well if you know what I mean" he said flashing the girl one of his adorable smiles. He then looked over to Temperance. "Isn't that right pookie?" he said giving her a Look of his own and raising his eyebrows at her.

"Right honey" she said awkwardly. _This really was going to be weird _she thought to herself.

The girl seemed to buy the story and continued checking them in. She gave them their key cards and called for a bell boy to escort them to their room.

"Enjoy your stay. If there is anything at all you should need for the duration of your stay, please let us know."

"Thank you we will, come on sweetie let's go."

Brennan didn't say anything else until they reached their room. After being escorted in by the bell boy and being told the luggage would be brought up shortly, they were left alone.

"What is with the too cute nicknames? Even if I was a newlywed, I don't think I would be walking around calling my husband names that make me want to vomit. That's just not who I am Booth" she said angrily. "And what is with all the touching? I'm not a big fan of the PDA."

"That's the point Bones. This is an undercover assignment. You do things that you wouldn't normally do so that people don't figure out your real identity. Lighten up, we are in paradise. Look around!"

And with that she stopped for a moment and took in the room. It really was beautiful. She hated to think what this could possibly be costing the Bureau. Across the room from the door there was a large king size bed made up with beautiful linens. A small sitting area was next to it with a gorgeous couch along with a chair and coffee table. There was a desk with two chairs and a large, luxurious master bath. Then she noticed the best part. French doors led out to the balcony with a stunning view of the ocean. She walked over to it, opened the doors and stepped outside. A small café table and two chairs were outside. Brennan could picture herself out here reading or working on the next chapter to her new book. She took a deep breath of the ocean air and began to feel a little more relaxed after the disaster downstairs.

"See, not too bad" he said walking out to join her on the balcony. She looked over at him briefly and then back at the ocean.

"Okay, I will try to lighten up as you say. Remember, we have a job to do though."

"How could I forget?" He smiled at her.

"And no more weird pet names. Try and call me by my fake name or if you absolutely must, I guess you can call me honey. No pookie though, that's absolutely hideous!"

"No pookie, I promise' he added with mock sincerity. "And for my request, try not to jump out of your skin every time I touch you. I don't bite. And it's a dead giveaway that something is not right."

"I'll try Booth, it's just kind of weird don't you think? I'm not used to you walking up, grabbing me and kissing me. That's not necessarily a typical coworker relationship."

"It is of husband and wife though. Are we cool here?"

"Yeah, we're cool here" she said mocking him using his phrase.

"We have officially survived our first fight as husband and wife. It should get easier from here, right?" he asked only half joking.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Just then, the bell boy knocked at the door and Booth left Brennan standing on the balcony once again alone with her thoughts. The next weeks were definitely going to be interesting.

_That's all for now! What did you think? Any ideas you would like to see incorporated? Sorry, I know the I don't bite thing was a cheap shot, but I had to incorporate a little bit of Angel. Hit that little button at the bottom of the screen and tell me. The more reviews I get, the faster I update. _


	6. Chapter 5

_Chapter five up and ready for you. The rest of the story of the Night Stalker will be explained in detail during their briefing. Also, more Booth/Brennan interaction. I am blown away by the response to this story. I'm so glad you all like it. I do not own Bones or anything that has to do with it._

After they had unpacked, Booth and Brennan had to go back out to Charleston for their briefing. Temperance was glad to be getting away from the whole undercover assignment. No matter how hard she tried, she just was not comfortable with having to pretend to be Booth's wife. Because she knew buried deep down under everything, she did have some feelings for him (as much as she hated to admit that).

Unlike their last ride in the car together, this one was eerily silent. There was no arguing or even their normal friendly banter. Just silence. They spent most of the ride listening to the radio. The only time they really did speak was if they would pass one of the locations a body had been discovered at on the road to Charleston.

Just when neither one could take another minute in the car, (it had been a long day after all with the traveling and everything) they arrived at a modest building downtown that housed the FBI's headquarters. They got out of the car and walked to the entrance. Booth, being the gentleman that he was, held the door for her. She gave him another Look as she went through the open door. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't have bothered her necessarily, but it did today.

"You don't have to do that you know. We don't have pretend here" she said with an irritated tone in her voice.

"I know, I was just being nice. You didn't seem to mind any other time I've held the door for you. What is with you today Bones? You have been acting weird ever since we got off the plane."

"Can we maybe talk about this later? I need to focus on the other aspect of my job right now."

"Fine" he said, anger creeping into his voice.

"Fine" she snapped back.

They took the elevator up to the third floor of the building. When the doors opened to let them out, Booth practically ran over the people waiting to go downstairs as he made an attempt to get away from Brennan as fast as possible. He reached the conference room door first, again, and opened it. He let it fall closed as he went past and Brennan practically ran into it. She stopped, took a breath in sharply and let it out. _Well at least he's doing what I asked him to_ she thought as remorse passed through her mind at her earlier behavior. _He's right_ she thought _I really do need_ _to lighten up. This is an assignment just like any other._

Just as they were taking their seats next to each other, the head of the Charleston FBI and his team entered the room.

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, thank you so much for coming down here to help with the case. I'm Agent Pernout."

"Yes, we spoke on the phone" answered Booth.

"Dr. Brennan, I especially want to thank you for your help in this most unusual assignment. I'm sure it's not everyday that you are called in to go undercover and pose as bait to capture a serial killer."

"No, not really in my job description, but I will help in anyway I can."

"Good to know. Let's get started then."

As he handed them each a file, Agent Pernout began to launch into all the details that they knew about the Night Stalker case. Throughout his presentation, pictures of the crime scenes and the remains flashed onto the white projector screen. Booth and Brennan noticed how all of the crime scenes were very similar to the one that had visited earlier in the day. ALONE was written somewhere in every crime scene.

The victims all seemed to be physically similar. Some of the pictures they had a harder time seeing the similarities due to the decomposition of the bodies. That was part of the problem they had been having with this case. With the area leading into to Kiawah from Charleston being mainly rural and quite a bit of it unlived in, it was days or weeks before the bodies were sometimes discovered.

They had discovered the first of the ten victims so far one month ago. The body was so badly decomposed from being exposed to the elements that they had a hard time determining her identity. When they finally did make the identification, they learned that she had been reported missing three weeks prior. Before her body turned up, not many people were out there searching the area. Now, besides the local authorities, residents and tourists alike were scouring the area looking for remains of their loved ones or sometimes just out of curiosity. Now the bodies were being found in a more timely matter. However, with all the people in the area, the crime scenes were usually contaminated before the police could secure the area.

Temperance thought back to the fibers they had collected from the crime scene earlier today. She wondered if they were from the killer or another random person.

Agent Pernout continued with the presentation. All the victims had been similar in age and physical description. All were believed to have been raped shortly before their violent deaths. After raping the women, he tortured them with live wires that sent shocks of electricity through their bodies. After they had passed out from everything that would happen to them, he would drive a large knife through their still beating hearts and kill them. All the stab wounds were believed to be from the same knife and the murder weapon had not been found yet. After he dumped the bodies, he would remove the victims hands and toss them out into the surrounding area. All of the victims clothes and personal effects were removed as well and had not been located so far. It was assumed that the Night Stalker either had destroyed them or was holding onto them as some kind of trophy.

Booth and Brennan sat in their seats and flipped through pictures of the girls before they had been murdered. Booth saw how much Bones looked like these women. He wondered again how he was ever going to be able to keep her safe, especially if she wouldn't let him near her.

Brennan didn't seem as concerned for her safety as Booth was. She asked if the last victim, Teresa Benson, had been released from the medical examiners' office. She had not. Agent Pernout agreed to have the ME's office hold her body until she could get down there to examine it herself. They made an appointment to view the body tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, Agent Pernout suggested that they have dinner and get some rest after the long day they had traveling. Seeley and Temperance made the way back down to the car in uncomfortable silence. Once again, on the way out, he let the door almost hit her in the face. He was definitely still mad over her earlier behavior.

Once they were back in the car, it was Brennan who spoke first.

"Booth, I didn't mean to act the way I did earlier, it's just I'm really not comfortable with this."

"It's fine Bones. You do whatever it is that you have to do, just don't compromise this case because of it. If the killer senses anything out of the ordinary, we could lose him. I will continue to act like your husband in public, but otherwise leave me alone." Neither said anything for the rest of the drive back.

When they arrived back at the hotel, he did hold the door for her and placed his hand on her back as they walked back to the hotel room. The girl that had checked them in earlier had been replaced by a young man. He watched them as they made their way across the lobby towards the elevators.

As soon as they got inside the hotel room, he removed his hand and went back to sulking. He took a change of clothes out of his drawer and hurried into the bathroom without saying another word to her. She took her laptop and went out onto the balcony and watched the sun set, listening to the waves crash on the shore.

She worked on the next chapter of her new book and by the time she stopped to look at her watch, it was over an hour later. Temperance gathered up her laptop and went back in to get ready for bed.

Booth was nowhere to be found. He had left her a brief note explaining that he had gone down to the gym to work out and would be back later. By the time she had changed into pajamas, Booth still hadn't returned. She crawled into bed and turned out the lamp on the table next to the bed. She was so tired from the trip that she fell asleep immediately (which was very unusual for her) and didn't even wake up when Booth came back.

He changed clothes and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the closet so that he could sleep on the couch. He hoped things would go better tomorrow for them than they had today.

_That's all for now. Will Booth and Brennan be able to get past the problems they are having or will it jeopardize the investigation? I am trying to make the chapters longer as the story grows. Let me know if they become too long or boring. Just to let you know, I am trying to work all your suggestions into the story, but it may take a few chapters before they appear. Thanks again! Please review! _


	7. Chapter 6

_Next chapter-still do not own Bones. I've decided to slow down a little and focus more on what the characters' emotions are. Thanks for the advice pinkmarshmello. So, chapters will be spaced a little further apart than they had been before, but hopefully they will be a little longer and even better than before. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far-you guys rock! _

Even though she had fallen asleep easily enough, Temperance did not stay that way for long. She was plagued by nightmares that continued to wake her. The most recent of which involved being kidnapped by the Night Stalker. When Booth had come to rescue her, she had been forced to watch as he was killed.

She awoke drenched in sweat and rolled over to check the time. Only five in the morning. She still had almost two hours to kill before needing to get up and get ready to go the Medical Examiner's office.

She looked past the alarm clock on the nightstand and over at Booth who was still asleep on the couch. He was snoring just a little bit. Instead of finding it annoying as she usually did with guys that snored, it was actually kind of endearing to see that he wasn't so perfect after all. Once again, she felt guilty over her behavior last night. Booth hadn't done anything to justify the way she treated him. She decided that she needed to make things right with him today not only so that it wouldn't disrupt the assignment, but because he was her friend (sort of) and friends shouldn't treat each other that way.

Temperance decided that a walk along the beach might help her clear her head and figure out what she should day to smooth things over between them. She slipped out of the smooth linens that covered the bed and quickly changed clothes in the bathroom. She then grabbed her key card and placed it in the pocket of her light jacket. She quietly opened and closed the door, hoping that it wouldn't wake Booth.

Brennan took the elevator down to the lobby. As the doors opened, she saw the same young man at the check in desk. He had his head down, studying something on the desk. He glanced up to see who was there and followed her with his eyes as Temperance made her way through the lobby and out the front door.

Approaching the beach, she removed her sandals and left them by the boardwalk that crossed over the dunes to the beach. She let mind wander as she walked along the deserted stretch of sand. She loved being on the beach this time of morning. So quiet and peaceful. The sun was just starting to make it's ascent into the sky from the horizon. Brilliant shades of pinks, oranges and purples were beginning to appear. The air was still cool since the sun hadn't risen yet and the sand felt cool beneath her bare feet. She edged closer to where the waves beat against the shore and watched the birds pick at the shells that had washed up on the beach after the tide had gone back in. The she wondered if Booth liked walking along the beach at sunrise (or sunset-she loved both).

_Booth. How was she going to be able to repair the damage she had done yesterday?_ She was pretty certain that her typical ignore it and it will eventually go away approach was not going to work here. A scary thought crossed her mind. She was going to have to apologize and admit she was wrong. Brennan really hated to do that. Most of the time, she was able to get away without having to, but she knew there was no way around it this time.

She also had to find a way to be more comfortable with him touching her. Odds are it was going to involve more than just touching, what if he had to kiss her? What would that be like? She imagined that from a purely physical stance, it would be very nice. Booth was definitely attractive and she was pretty sure that he would be a good kisser. Then she began to think of what else he might be good at. Stop it! You can't think of him in that way! What if he was still with Tessa? They hadn't really discussed her lately. She began to feel inadequate again.

Then a plan began to form in her head. She knew what she had to do and when she got back upstairs, she would wake Booth up and take him to breakfast to tell him. She then glanced down at her watch, surprised by how much time had passed since she had been down there, and decided to head back. When she reached the boardwalk, she noticed her sandals were missing. She knew she had left them there, but decided not to think too much of it. People always had things stolen at the beach and she knew better than to leave something unattended. Thankfully, being a girl, she had plenty of other shoes to wear for the duration of the trip. So, she went barefoot back into the hotel and back up to their room. The man who had been at the front desk when she left was now gone and the same girl from yesterday was back on shift. She smiled as she walked past and the girl smiled back. _See, it doesn't hurt to be nice to people occasionally_. She was going to try that approach with Booth.

About a half hour or so after Brennan had left their hotel room to walk on the beach, Seeley Booth began to wake up. He had been curled up on his side, crammed onto the tiny loveseat. It was actually a crick in his neck that woke him up_. Where am I?_ He rolled back onto his other side facing out to the room and it all came back to him. The assignment and the case. Thoughts of Brennan entered his mind. He tried to push them aside. She was definitely not his favorite person at the moment. And why should she be after the way she treated him yesterday?

They had been working together on cases, even out of town cases for awhile. Now, it was the first time they were rooming together (being quarantined at the Jeffersonian over Christmas definitely didn't count). Maybe having to play a newlywed couple was too much for her. The last relationship he had seen her have hadn't ended too well. He knew she had relationship issues and maybe this was hitting a little close to home. Booth decided to try and talk to her about it today on the drive out to Charleston. There would be nowhere for her to escape in the car and they would have almost forty-five minutes to hash it out.

He then looked over at the bed. He couldn't believe it-she was gone! He threw the light blanket that had been covering him back onto the loveseat and dashed frantically around the room looking for any sign of her. There was none. She hadn't left a note or anything. What if she had been abducted? It had been a few days since the killer had taken another victim and Bones did match the physical qualities he looked for in his victims.

He threw some clothes on and left the hotel room in a hurry. He began to scour the inside of the hotel top to bottom. After checking their floor he took the elevator down to the lobby. The doors opened and he pushed his way past them before they could open all the way. Booth ran across the lobby and made it to the front desk in record time. The same girl that had checked them in yesterday was back on shift.

"Did you see my wife come down here at all?" he practically shouted at the girl.

"No, sir. I haven't, but I just came on. Let me ask Andrew if he saw her. I don't think he has left yet." She went behind the door behind the desk and tried to find Andrew (the man that Brennan had seen on her way out). She came back a few moments later, alone.

"I'm sorry sir, he must already have left for the day. If I see her, I'll tell her you are looking for her."

"Thanks!" he breezed past her and ran outside. He decided to try the beach and hope he ran across her. _No sign of her yet_ he thought running along the boardwalk. He took off down the beach in the opposite direction she had taken.

Brennan felt a little out of place walking through the lobby of a five star hotel barefoot. The girl at the desk called her over. She hoped this was not going to be a lecture on the proper attire for the hotel. It wasn't.

"Mrs. Sernicko" Brennan wondered how the girl could possibly remember her fake married name when she could barely remember it herself.

"Yes"

"Your husband came down here about a half hour frantically trying to find you. I'm sure you've heard about what has been happening here over the last month. He must have thought you had been abducted."

"Oh, thank you. Has he come back yet?"

"No, he must still be trying to find you."

"I'll try him on his cell when I get back to our room. Thank you."

"You're welcome. If there's anything else I can do for you, let me know."

_Oh no_ she thought to herself. She hadn't left Booth a note explaining where she was. He would be more at her now than he had been last night. Not a good way to start the day.

He was still gone by the time she came back to the room, so she decided to shower and get ready for the day. She definitely had some explaining to do.

Booth had not seen her all along the beach and decided he would head back to hotel and see if she had come back. If something had happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself. If he hadn't been such an ass last night, she might not have left.

The girl at the front desk was busy assisting another guest as he came in, so he went straight up to the room without stopping to talk. As he opened the door to their room, he saw her standing by the closet looking for something to wear. She was wearing one of the hotel's soft fluffy robes. Her still damp hair hung in loose curls at her shoulders. She had never looked more beautiful to him as she did then.

He practically flew across the room and swept her up in a big embrace, lifting her off the ground, no longer caring about what was appropriate and if she didn't like to be touched. Thank God she was safe.

Temperance initially stiffened at being swept off her feet like that, but didn't say anything about how uncomfortable she was. She just let him hold her and tried to relax.

Relief washed over both of them. He was thankful she was safe and alive, she was thankful he didn't seem mad at her anymore. For a few moments, neither said anything. Then Brennan broke the silence.

"Booth, can you put me down? You're cutting off oxygen to my lungs and I'm a little naked under this robe."

"Right" he said putting her down and turning a bright shade of red.

"Bones, where were you?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk on the beach. I thought I'd be back before you even woke up. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I thought you had been kidnapped! When I woke and saw you were gone and hadn't left me anything to let me know you were okay, I thought the worst. Promise me that you'll never do that again while we are here."

"I will do my best."

Booth seemed to settle for that and got in the shower to get ready to head to Charleston. Brennan finished up getting ready. There would still be plenty to talk about on their ride in, but at least the anger and resentment from last night was gone. At least for now.

_Let me know what you think of this chapter. Was it too long? I've been putting this together over the last few days instead of just a few hours. Please review and tell me what you think. I'll try to post again before the weekend, especially if I get some more reviews. Thanks again!_


	8. Chapter 7

_Here is the (hopefully) much anticipated next chapter. Sorry for the long wait in between! Work and home have both been totally hectic. I also have been doing rewrite after rewrite of this chapter and I'm still not quite happy with it yet, so you'll have to let me know what you think. Still do not own Bones._

Booth was showered and changed in record time.He decided to push his luck a little this morning and see if Bones really was going to make an effort in changing her behavior for the assignment. As they rode the elevator down to the lobby, he reached over and gently took her hand in his. This time she didn't jump away, just looked down at his hand and then back up towards the door. She let him hold on through the lobby and he finally let go when the valet brought the car around.

"Good job Bones! That's the first time since we've been down here that you haven't completely objected to any kind of physical contact. See, was that really so hard?"

"Don't push your luck Booth" she said glaring at him, only a little this time though.

They didn't talk much about what had happened the night before since it was a sore subject for the both of them still. So, they talked mainly about the case. They also stopped to drop the samples of fibers they had found at the latest victim's crime scene with the courier service. They would then be transported back to the Jeffersonian for further analysis. Brennan felt more comfortable with her team running the tests instead of the local channels.

By the time they had reached the ME's office, things were beginning to feel a little more normal than they had been since first coming to South Carolina. For a few moments at least they were back to being Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan instead of Anthony and Samantha Sernicko, newlywed couple.

They were shown into the crypt that the body was being kept. For the next hour, Brennan examined the body trying to find anything that the Medical Examiner may have missed that would help them locate the killer before he took his next victim. The body was clean though. Whoever the Night Stalker was, he was very careful in making sure he didn't leave any trace evidence behind. Now they had to place a lot of faith in those fibers that they had collected from the most recent crime scene.

After deciding that nothing more could be determined from the body, Brennan decided that it would be okay to release the girl's body to her family. The girl's parents had flown in from St. Louis, Missouri to claim the body. She would be flown back home and buried there.

Temperance was unusually quiet on the way back to the hotel. Booth kept trying to start a conversation about anything with her, but she just seemed lost in her own thoughts. He decided to give up and continued driving back towards the Sanctuary. He hoped in the short amount of time that had passed since the incident this morning that he hadn't done anything to piss her off again. He didn't think he had, but you never know. Booth left her alone with her thoughts for the remainder of the trip back to the hotel.

After checking the car in with the valet, Booth and Brennan went back up to their room. Temperance immediately switched on her laptop and began an email to Angela that she was sending the fibers up the Jeffersonian and to let her know as soon as they were able to get any information on them. Booth took out some of the case files and tried to read them, but was unable to concentrate.

"Bones, why don't we hang out in the hotel today? Maybe we'll be able to casually pick up some information on the murders without having to actually interrogate anyone. It's a beautiful day, we can lay out by the pool, check out the beach and later on some of the restaurants."

She decided this sounded better than moping around the room all day waiting for the results of the tests, which could take hours after hours when they finally did arrive back at the lab.

"Okay, let me get changed."

Brennan grabbed a few things from inside one of her drawers and went to the bathroom to get changed. As soon as she closed the door, Booth quickly pulled his swim trunks and sandals on. He was ready in just under a minute.

"Anytime today would be great Bones!" he said, teasing her.

"I'm almost ready, give me another minute."

He continued to pace the room, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her emerge from the bathroom. She was wearing a modest black bikini with a matching wrap around her waist. Her hair was loosely pulled into a twist and secured with a clip. Sunglasses and sandals completed the outfit. It was by no means very revealing, but it took his breath away. Bones, his partner, looked like such a girl. A very attractive one at that. Not that she didn't normally look very nice, but it wasn't everyday they wore bathing suits on the job.

Temperance noticed him staring at her and began to blush just a little bit. She nervously readjusted the tie on her wrap.

"Are you ready?" she asked hoping to get past the awkwardness.

"Yeah let's go." He held the door for her and she walked past, this time not giving him any irritated looks. The hotel had outdoor and indoor pools. Since it was a beautiful day out, they decided to lay out by the hotel's main outdoor pool and talk to some of the other guests. They spread their towels down on two lounge chairs that were side by side.

The pools were beautiful. The main pool had an infinity edge. Lots of people were out today laying in the sun. Mainly wealthly young couples, the occasional business professional or family were scattered in there as well. This was definitely going to be the place to mingle with people and hopefully get information out of them that could lead them to the killer.

After settling in, Booth decided to order some drinks for the two of them. He figured it couldn't hurt to drink just a little, everyone else around them was. He ordered two mixed drinks, the really fruity kind with the umbrellas that were a standard for vacationers.

"Do you really think we should be drinking on the job Booth?" she asked coolly. "Aren't we supposed to be working here?"

"We are blending in. And my name is Anthony. Remember Samantha?" he whispered.

"Right Anthony."

Their drinks arrived and Brennan decided one little drink wouldn't hurt her any. As long as she was able to stop after only one or two. She did not have the highest tolerance for alcohol because she barely ever drank. She took a small sip at first and could barley taste any alcohol. These had to be mainly fruit juice, right? Both sat sipping their drinks for a little while, then Brennan began to feel the heat of the sun on her skin. She reached into her bag and pulled out her bottle of sunscreen and began to apply it before she would have the chance to burn. Booth looked over at her and stared a little behind his dark sunglasses.

"Samantha, honey, let me help you with that." He took the bottle from her and began to rub the lotion onto her back, where she couldn't reach.

"Thanks dear" she said emphasizing the last word. _Oh well_, she thought to herself, _at least it's_ _better than pookie._ Booth's strong hands massaging the sunscreen into her back caused Brennan to forget herself and get lost in the moment. _Stop he is your partner! What kind of relationship could you possibly have with him? Work relationships should be just that-work-not personal. _

"Thanks Anthony, I think you got it" she said taking the bottle back from him and leaning back onto her lounge chair, settling back into reality. After laying in the sun for over a half hour, Booth got hot and went to get into the pool. He dove in and began to do laps alongside a few others in the pool. Temperance stayed where she was.

What she didn't realize was that someone was watching her from not too far away. A man sitting at the bar had his eye on her. He was in his mid early to mid thirties, sandy brown hair, tan large muscular build and well dressed. Ever since she had walked down into the pool area earlier in the afternoon, he had been unable to take his eyes off her. He asked the bartender what she was drinking and ordered another for her. The man she had been with had disappeared into the pool and now was his shot. He requested that his identity be kept a secret from her. After paying for her drink, he left the bar and went back to his hotel room. He would see her again later.

By the time Temperance received the drink, the man had disappeared. Booth was still in the pool, so it couldn't be from him. He was the only one she knew around here. So, she accepted the drink, but did not sip from it in case there was something in there not too good for her. If Angela were here now, she would be telling her not to turn down a free drink. But, she wasn't and Brennan was pretty sure Angela did not have a serial killer looking for women of her physical description back at home in D.C.

She decided that when Booth got back from doing laps and talking to the guests using the pool, she would tell him about this and the missing sandals from this morning. Maybe it was all nothing, but you could never be too safe when youcould bea target of a serial killer

_Sorry this chapter is a little shorter. I am still not too happy with it, so any suggestions would be welcomed. This chapter may change a little in the future as more ideas come to me. So check back. The next few chapters should be a little more romantic than suspenseful. Valentine's day always make me think more to the romance side of things. Lots of Booth/Brennan in the next chapters. I'll try and post as soon as I can, but it may be another few days (or maybe not, we'll see). Please review-thanks again! _


	9. Chapter 8

_I was blown away by the amount of reviews when I checked this morning-YEAH! Thanks so much! Another post a little sooner than the previous one. They may be a little further apart this week, work is busy this time of year. This chapter will have more Booth/Brennan. Maybe even a little hurt/comfort for those of you who have been patiently waiting. What can I say, I'm a romantic at heart especially this close to Valentine's Day. Don't own Bones or anything that has to do with it._

Booth and Brennan spent a little over an hour more at the pool that afternoon. Booth got a little more information out of the other guests, but not much more than he had already known. Temperance spent a good portion of that time trying not to notice the easy way he had with people, most of all women. She wished she had the ability to go up and talk to perfect strangers like it was nothing at all. But, she couldn't help who she was. All she could do was play up her own strengths, most importantly getting to the bottom of this case and catching the son of a bitch who was murdering women left and right.

Behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses, she was watching him again while pretending to read a book. He had pulled himself out of the water and was making his way back over to her. Brennan couldn't help but admire the way he looked without his shirt on. All of the hours that he spent at the gym working out definitely had paid off. If Angela were here now she would probably either have a heart attack or be throwing himself at him. Maybe even both. She looked back down and pretended not to notice that he was coming back over towards her. Booth grabbed his towel off the lounge chair and began to dry himself off.

"You're not going to get in?" he asked.

"Not now, maybe later. The beach is a little more my style. I love the feeling of the waves rushing over me. It makes you feel very small in the grand scheme of things."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I like swimming in the ocean too. It's not too late, we should go down there."

"Okay."

They gathered their things off the chairs and headed down to the beach. It was a beautiful day and the beach was pretty crowded. Umbrellas dotted the area close to the dunes for those who were sensitive to the sun. Miraculously they found an empty one and laid their things out on towels under the umbrella. Brennan knew she wouldn't be able to stay out in the sun for too much longer, for fear she would burn to a crisp. She had a fairly light complexion to begin with and it usually took some time for her to build up a tan so that she would not burn. Booth helped her apply a little more sunscreen and then they made their way to the water's edge.

The water was a little colder than she expected, but it was just early June. The water would get warmer the later into the summer it got to be. She let the water begin to run over her feet just a little at first. Booth did not hesitate at all. He went straight in, not seeming to notice the cold. After he came up from out of the water, he noticed that she was holding back.

"Aren't you going to get in here either, dear?" he asked staying in character.

"It's a little colder than I thought it would be" she said back to him.

What he did next completely surprised her. He swam back up to where she was and got out of the water. Then, dripping wet with cold ocean water, he picked her up, carried her over the water and dropped her in. She had tried struggling once she knew what he was doing, but it was no good. He had a firm grip on her and there was no way she would be able to escape his embrace. She shrieked as she was dropped in. When her head popped up from underneath the surface of the water, she looked pissed.

"You're in big trouble" she said only half joking.

"Lighten up Sam, you said you liked the ocean, so I was only helping" he said flashing her one of his megawatt smiles.

She decided that she would get back at him later. For now, they would just enjoy the rest of the afternoon. They decided to rent jet skis and spent most of the rest of the day chasing each other around on them having a really great time together.

Brennan could feel herself beginning to burn and decided it was time to head back to the hotel. After returning the jet skis to the rental office, they walked hand in hand back along the shoreline just like any other normal couple. Both had been enjoying the afternoon so much that neither had been paying too much attention to what was around them. All of a sudden, she cried out in pain and stumbled.

"What's wrong?" he asked concerned for her. Then he saw the water around her feet begin to turn red.

"I cut myself probably on a piece of broken shell" she said, wincing in pain.

"Let me see."

She obediently lifted her lifted her foot out of the water and blood ran from the long gash in the bottom of her left foot. However, it did feel good to have her foot out of the salty water that stung the exposed flesh.

"That looks bad, we should get you back to the hotel and get that cleaned up. I hate to say it, but that looks pretty deep and you may need stitches."

A look of panic flashed across her pretty features. "Stitches? As in hospitals and needles?"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of needles after what I've seen you do all day! I didn't think you were really afraid of anything."

"Well I don't like needles. Or hospitals."

She tried to put weight on her foot so that they could walk back to the hotel, but winced in pain again as she put her foot down. What he did next surprised her just as much as when he had dropped her in the ocean. He carefully scooped her up in his arms and carried her all the way back to the hotel. Of course she protested that he didn't need to do that and that she could take care of herself, but he wasn't having any of that. She finally relented and let him carry her. _Besides_, she though to herself, _it could get infected if I picked up bacteria from the sand_. He didn't put her back down until they were back in the room. Then he set off to find a first aid kit from the concierge.

Temperance hobbled into the bathroom and began to wash the wound out. The water would wash the blood away, but kept coming back. Booth was right, she probably would need stitches. She began to panic, just a little.

Then he was back. He made her sit on the edge of the tub and he knelt down beside her. Booth carefully cleaned out the debris and washed the wound out. She tried not to be a baby, but it really hurt. And he was being so wonderful about everything. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes, but did not fall. She didn't deserve to be treated this good after the way she acted towards him yesterday. He hadn't done anything wrong.

Booth then wrapped a towel around her foot and instructed her to keep pressure on it. He looked up at her and flashed his smile at her once again. Then he noticed her eyes watering up. He took her hand and wrapped his reassuringly around hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"You're going to be fine Bones. I don't think you're even going to need to go to the emergency room."

She gave him a weak smile back, but didn't say anything. He removed the towel and began to bandage the wound. Finishing, he leaned to back to inspect his work. Then he dropped an ever so gentle kiss on the top of her injured foot.

"There, all better now."

He looked up at her and saw her staring back at him with those intense light eyes of hers. He felt his heart surge as he took in her beauty. Her hair was loose and flowing over her shoulders. Her cheeks were blushing, whether it was from the sun or the situation, he couldn't tell. They stayed that way for a moment and then he began to lean in closer. Booth reached up his hand to her cheek and held her. She tried to look away, but he redirected her gaze back to meet his own. Their eyes locked as he leaned in even closer. Her eyes closed and she could feel his lips almost on hers when…

Her cell phone rang.

"Please don't answer that Bones" he whispered into her ear.

She stood up abruptly and hobbled out of the bathroom and over to her bag and the ringing phone.

"Brennan" she answered slightly out of breath. Booth stayed in the bathroom with his head in his hands for a minute before getting up to see who was on the other end of the phone.

"Hey sweetie! How's paradise?"

"It's fine Angela. What's going on, did you guys get the samples?"

"Yeah they arrived a little while ago. Hodgins and Zach are analyzing them as we speak. I wanted to let you know they got here safe and sound and we should have answers for you soon. How's Booth?"

"He's fine."

"I bet he is" she said with a knowing tone in her voice. "I'm sure he is the perfect fake husband."

"Right" she said not wanting to go into details with him standing in the same room only a few feet away from her. "Call me when you have more information."

"You bet-bye sweetie!"

"Thanks Ang" she said hanging up the phone.

"We should get ready to go out for dinner. I thought we could try the restaurants and the bars in the hotel. See if any of the staff or the other guests know anything else about the murders" Booth said from behind her.

She turned around to face him. "Right, good idea" and she gathered her things to get in the shower. She closed the door behind her and turned the water on. She tried not to get her foot wet and took a little longer than usual in the shower. Her mind kept wandering back to when Booth had almost kissed her. _Why on earth did I take that call?_

She managed to compose herself before going back out into the room. By that time Booth was ready to get into the shower. He went in after her and she continued to get dressed. Soon they were both ready for the night out. Neither said anything more about what almost happened in the bathroom.

_That's all for now! The next chapter will be the night out. What would you like to see happen? Will Booth and Brennan ever be able to take the next step? Stay tuned and find out! Please review. I'll try and have the next chapter posted sometime on Tuesday. Thanks!_


	10. Chapter 9

_100 + reviews! I was so excited! Thanks so much! I'm glad you all are liking the story so far. Sorry, I had hoped to have this posted sooner, but my DSL was acting up a bit and had to do some more updates before it was working well again. Anyways, more Booth/Brennan in this chapter. Next chapters will deal a little more with the case, but wanted this chapter to be kind of fluffy! Happy Valentine's Day!_

_Author's Note: I don't think they have a place for dancing inside the real Sanctuary, so I am adding one of my own, a temporary night club which opens out onto a deck with a large dance floor and a live band. It does not really exist there, only in my head and this story. Oh, also do not own Bones._

In the bathroom of the hotel room she and Booth were sharing, Temperance was putting on the finishing touches to her ensemble. She was dressed in a simple black halter dress and strappy heels. Large dangly silver earrings and her platinum wedding band were the only pieces of jewelry she wore. Her hair wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders.

"Bones, aren't you ready yet?"

_Why does it always take girls so long to get ready to go out?_ He knew that no matter how many women he dated or how old he got to be he would never understand that about women. It took him all of ten minutes to get dressed and ready after his shower. Booth had put on a nice jacket since the bar inside the hotel was kind of fancy along with dress pants, a button down shirt and dress shoes. He had put a little aftershave on and he was ready to go. She had been in that bathroom for over forty-five minutes now. He was starving and was anxious to have a nice dinner since they didn't get to last night with all the fighting.

"I'm coming out now-keep it together Booth!"

Then she came out of the bathroom and all thoughts of his hungry stomach were gone and all he could think of was her. Booth walked over to her and offered her his arm.

"You look really beautiful."

"No, you're just saying that."

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"Thanks" she said somewhat taken aback.

He held open the door and she almost tripped for the second time that day when she saw what was outside the door. She gasped.

Her sandals from this morning.

_How in the hell did those get there?_

"Bones, why did you leave your shoes outside?"

"I didn't."

"Then how did they get there? They can't move on their own."

"I know that Booth. I was wearing them this morning when I went to walk on the beach. I took them off so that I could walk better in the sand and when I finished and came back for them, they were gone. I didn't really think anything of it at the time, but how did they get here now?"

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I didn't think it was that important. People get things stolen all the time at the beach."

"Yes, but when there is a serial killer on the loose, things need to be taken a little more seriously. He could have taken them."

"We need to have these sent to have them dusted for prints or any other trace evidence. But, we'll have to take them tomorrow. The courier service won't be back until then. For now, we'll just have to wait. Anything else you need to tell me?"

"An anonymous person sent me a drink at the pool. Don't worry-I didn't drink any of it."

"I think someone is onto you Bones, it could be him. We may have him closer than he thinks. Until he is caught, don't go anywhere without me."

Frightened a little now she said "Okay."

Brennan was still shaken up by the time they arrived at the bar downstairs. She decided to order a martini, which the bar was famous for, to take the edge off. She had to keep her cool and act like happy newlywed to maintain her cover. Maybe this would help her relax. Booth ordered a scotch on the rocks.

After they got their drinks from the bar, they went out onto the deck that overlooked the beach. They leaned against the guard rail that was at the edge of the deck. Booth set his drink down and put a hand gently on her back. She startled just a little.

"We're not back to that again are we? I thought we had this issue resolved?" he whispered in hopes that no one would hear him. "Is this because of what almost happened in the bathroom upstairs? Because if it is, then I'm sorry I tried to put a move on you."

"No, it's just I'm afraid that I won't be able to do this. I'm sorry but what if I can't just let him try to come after me?" She glanced down at her hands while she said this and twirled the platinum ring around her finger nervously.

"You won't have to. I'll be here to protect you, just like always. I could never live with myself if anything were to happen to you."

She didn't have a chance to respond because their table was ready.

By the time they were seated and had menus placed in front of them, Temperance was on her second martini of the evening. It would most certainly not be her last of the night either. Booth was still sipping his drink and was a little concerned about the amount of alcohol she was consuming. He would have to keep an eye on her about that.

The food did not take long to arrive, but Brennan managed to finish her second drink and began working on a third by the time dinner was served. Booth had never seen her drink so much before. The more she drank though, the less worried she seemed to be about being harassed by the Night Stalker.

By the time dinner was over, Booth and Brennan could hear a band beginning to play and she wanted to check it out. After the bill had been settled, Temperance grabbed Booth by the arm and began to drag him in the direction of where the music was coming from.

One of the hotel's ballrooms had been converted into a type of nightclub. A bar had been set up in one of the corners of the room. The French doors inside opened up to a large deck that once again overlooked the ocean. A live cover band had set up outside and was now beginning their set. Some of the hotel's guests were already inside. Mostly people about their age, but there were some people barely out their teens mixed in as well.

People were already dancing along to the music. By now, she was pretty drunk and had lost most of the wall she normally put up for other people. Booth was shocked at what she did next. Brennan walked out onto the dance floor alone, then turned around and nodded her head seductively for him to join her. Normally, he wasn't much of a dancer, but how could he pass that up?

Mainly the band played songs with faster tempos and they danced to every one of them. Booth was surprised at what a good time she seemed to be having. When she wasn't pushing him away, he could really feel something between them. He really hoped it wasn't just all the alcohol in her system. That definitely wasn't what it was for him.

Then a slow song started. He thought she would drop back into the crowd and sit this one out. But, she had other plans. Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest. He then in turn, wrapped his arms around her waist and they swayed together along to the music. She had her eyes closed and let out a small contented sigh that was inaudible over the music. He gently kissed the top of head and wondered how much if any she would remember tomorrow. He knew it would be something he wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.

Two more drinks for her and many more dances happened before about 11:00 pm when Brennan started not to feel so good. Booth could see her eyes start to get heavy and she looked a little pale. It was time to go before she passed out on the deck. He put his arm around her waist and helped her back up to the room.

As they walked through the lobby, the young man from very early this morning was back on shift. He watched as Booth helped Temperance to the elevator.

After getting off the elevator on their floor, all the alcohol finally got to her and she passed out. Thankfully he had been holding on to her, so she didn't fall all the way. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to the room and laid her out on the bed. As he set her down, she began to wake back up a little.

"Bones, I don't think you want to sleep in that dress, so I'm going to help you into the bathroom so you can change." She nodded.

He didn't want to go through her drawers to find something for her to sleep in, so he dug one of his t-shirts out for her. It was a little big on him, so he knew it would be big enough to cover everything on her. As he helped her into the bathroom, she began to lose consciousness again. Then finally passed out for the second time that night.

_Oh God, what am I supposed to do now? She can't stay in her clothes, but she'll be really uncomfortable when she finds out I got her undressed._ Then he decided he could put the shirt over the dress, untie the top and let the rest fall away. He wouldn't see anything and she could preserve a little bit of dignity. That was just what he did and she slept through then entire thing.

He gently laid her back down and tucked the blanket around her. She had her arms around his neck as he carried her and now wouldn't let go. So, he crawled into bed with her. He took his shirt off but left his pants on. She then settled her head down on top of his chest and slept. He gently kissed the top of her head again and knew he would have a lot to explain to her in the morning.

_This will probably be the last post until the weekend. But, I'll see what I can do. This story has taken on more of angsty feel than I thought it would. Is that okay with you guys? Let me know! Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews-you guys have been awesome!_


	11. Chapter 10

_Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews and support on this story. I really appreciate it. More fluff in this chapter, but don't worry the creepy parts will be back soon. Next chapter should focus more on the case. Standard disclaimer about not owning Bones. Here's the next one for you-enjoy!_

Seeley Booth did not sleep particularly well that night. He was concerned about Brennan. From what he knew of her she was not a real big drinker. She had consumed more alcohollast nightthan he had seen her consume in the entire amount of time they had known one another. After he had laid down with her and she had snuggled up against him, she had barely moved. He awoke frequently afraid that she may have alcohol poisoning and every time he would check to make sure she was still breathing.

Morning was just beginning to appear beyond the sheer curtains that covered the window. Booth gazed out and could see the pinks and oranges of the sunrise behind the thin drapery. Then he glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost 6:00 a.m.

Temperance was still fast asleep with her head on his chest and her left arm rested across his stomach. Her legs were curled up in his. He had both of his arms wrapped around her. There were definitely worse ways he could think of to wake up.

Booth glanced down at her hand and stared at the platinum band that encircled her ring finger. Than he looked over at the matching one on his. He took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. He was surprised how at home he felt like this. He couldn't help it, his mind started to wander. Seeley found himself wishing more and more over the last couple of days that this was real and not just all part of an elaborate undercover assignment. He only wished she could see just how well suited for each other they were.

Since she wasn't showing any signs of waking just yet, he let himself fall back into a light sleep all the while dreaming of her.

He wasn't the only dreaming in the room. Visions of the day they had spent yesterday filtered through Temperance's mind. The jet skis, the dancing, (oh god) the drinking and a kiss that they had almost shared. _Damn cell phones_. She could hear the loud ring of it now as it interrupted the moment that played in her mind once again. Then she realized that the ringing she thought had been in her head was outside the dream.

The moment her eyes snapped open, the phone stopped it's obnoxious ring. Then she noticed she wasn't sleeping on her back like normal. She glanced down and saw skin. Not hers, his. She was lying draped across Booth's bare chest. He had his arms wrapped around her and was holding her left hand in his. She tried to remember how she had gotten this way. The last thing she remembered was dinner in one of the hotel's restaurants. She remembered having a few drinks before, during and dear god after dinner too. The rest of the evening was a big blur as it usually was after a night of heavy drinking for her. Not that it happened often. This was the reason she was not a big drinker.

She heard his light snoring and was relieved that he was still sleeping. She would hopefully have a few minutes at least to sort things out in her head. How did they end up in bed together? Did they do anything last night? She tried so hard to remember, but the evening was a great big blur.

Okay, she thought to herself, assess the situation. First of all, was she wearing any clothing? As far as she could tell by looking at him from the chest up he was not. Gulp. At first, she thought she might not be either, but was able to steal a quick glance down and saw that she was in a t-shirt. _Oh shit_, it was not hers. _It must be his_. She could feel that her legs were bare, but as she began to move one of her legs ever so gently against one of his, she realized he had pants on. _Oh, thank god._ She hoped that meant they hadn't done anything that they would regret today.

Then she began to remember what had kicked off the drinking binge last night. The Night Stalker may very well be after her now. Her sandals that had been taken during her walk on the beach had been left outside the door without any explanation. Then the anonymous drink at the pool. It was all too much of a coincidence. This was no longer just a possibility, but seemed more real. He could be contemplating how to abduct and murder her now.

As she lay there with him, despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but feel very safe. Booth always had made her feel protected, but never as much as he did right then at that moment. And as hard as it was to believe, she did not feel uncomfortable in his arms. Her hand seemed to fit in his perfectly, more so than with any other man she had ever been with. It all just seemed very natural just like they were meant to always be this way. She decided not to let go, but to stay with him instead. For once, cell phones be damned. Whoever it as could leave a message or call back. She readjusted her head against his chest and drifted back off to a light sleep once again.

They got about another half hour to sleep uninterrupted before the phone began to ring again. Not hers this time, but his. Booth had left his cell right on the nightstand and as it vibrated against the mahogany piece of furniture, it woke them both up right away. Brennan startled a little bit and Booth let go of her hand to answer the phone. As he sat up, she released herself from his arms and moved over back to her side of the bed.

"Booth" he said then listened to what the voice on the other end of the phone was saying. He continued the conversation but glanced over at her to see what her reaction was to their inappropriately timed wake up call. This was definitely not the way he imagined starting the day. She had edged far to the other side of the large California king size bed. She had her knees, covered by the sheets and blankets, drawn up defensively against her. She was not meeting his gaze. _Damn it_, he thought to himself, _I should have moved over to the couch in the middle of the night_. _Now, I've gone and made her uncomfortable again._

He finished up the phone call trying not to be distracted by the woman sitting on the other side of the bed from him. As he hung up the phone, he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Agent Pernout of the Charleston FBI had been the one on the other end of the phone. He was calling to let them know that the Night Stalker had abducted another woman last night.

Initially he was relieved that it wasn't Bones. So far, she was safe and with him. He intended to have it stay that way. But then he felt guilty at the fact that someone else had been taken and was probably already dead. No one should have to go through what this murderer did to his victims. He had to put a stop to it before anything happened to another woman, especially Bones.

He looked over at her and braced himself for what he had to tell her. She looked back over at him finally with those big blue eyes and into his deep brown ones. He wondered how she would take the news as he began to fill her in.

_To be continued. Sorry this chapter is so short, I just finished up a VERY long six day work week today and am exhausted. I am off work for the next two days, so I promise to work on a longer chapter to be up before I go back to work on Wednesday. I had been fighting a little bit of writer's block with this chapter, but I am back on track and starting to visualize an ending. I think it's going to be a shocker when the Night Stalker's identity is finally revealed. Or at least I hope it will be. Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks!_


	12. Chapter 11

_Thanks so much to all my awesome reviewers! The response to this story has been just unreal. I love opening my e-mail and seeing all of your encouragement and ideas. As for everyone who is wanting to know the identity of the Night Stalker, don't worry-his (or her I know I have been calling the Night Stalker a him, but you never know, I could be just throwing you off) identity will be revealed before you know it. Keep reading and find out. Thanks!_

Seeley Booth took a deep breath before he broke the news to her. After the way she had reacted last night after learning that she may be the next target, he didn't quite know how she was going to take this latest development. Another round of binge drinking was not an option this early in the morning, especially after all the martinis she had consumed last night.

"Bones, that was Agent Pernout" he began slowly not really sure how to tell her this. "He wanted to let us know right away that the Night Stalker had struck again last night."

At first, she just sat there on the other side of the bed and stared at him. She didn't say a word.

"Bones?" he asked. Still nothing.

It took her a minute to absorb what he had said to her. When Brennan heard the news from Booth that another woman had been abducted by the Night Stalker two thoughts raced through her mind each chiming in one right after the other. First, calming waves of relief. After discovering her sandals outside the room before dinner, she was sure she was going to be the next to be taken. But, it was someone else instead. Then on the other hand she felt guilty that she was not the one abducted and that another innocent person had been. She, the one who was supposed to be taken so that they could catch the killer, was still here safe and sound with Booth.

Booth. Right. She had to say something to him. _He must think I'm still not on this planet after all_ _the drinks from last night_. She took a deep breath and looked down at her knees, then back up at him.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are they sure it's the same person? Do they have any new leads?" she asked without any trace of emotion seeping into her words. The wall around her that he had been trying to break down was quickly being put back up

"Not yet. She has only been missing since last night, but her description matches that of the other victims and it's assumed to be him. Are you okay Bones?" he asked sliding over to her side of the bed. He thought to put his arm around her, but stopped thinking she may not be comfortable with that.

"I'm fine, Booth. I think we should get a start on the day. I'm going to take a shower." She hopped out of bed and hurried to bathroom and shut the door behind her before he could even begin to process what had just happened. Booth was left sitting there in surprise.

The bathroom door slammed shut behind Temperance. She turned the water on in the shower as hot as she would be able to stand without burning herself. After shedding his t-shirt on the floor, she climbed in. As soon as the shower door closed behind her, she finally let the tears that had been threatening to fall escape her eyes. She slowly lowered herself to the floor of the shower and cried quietly as the hot water ran over her.

She cried not only for the woman who was sure to have been murdered by now, but also a little for herself. Temperance did not often feel sorry for herself or afraid of things. But now she felt a whole slew of emotions that she wasn't real sure how to cope with.

The news of the latest abduction was not the only thing that was bothering her. Thoughts of Booth kept coming into her mind. Not the normal ones she usually had about the cases they solved or the working relationship that seemed to fit both of them so well. This was something deeper. And it scared the living hell out of her. She could actually feel herself starting to fall for Seeley Booth. Yesterday when he had taken such wonderful care of her was when she really began to realize how much. Then they had almost kissed before the phone had rang. Damn Angela and her perfect sense of timing.

The fibers from the crime scene. That was why Angela had been calling yesterday. They were probably done by now. The phone call that she had ignored this morning as she lay in Booth's arms had probably been from her team back at the Jeffersonian. How could she have been so irresponsible and selfish to ignore that call? The whole relationship that was developing between the two of them was beginning to affect her work. That couldn't happen. She decided that she would not let her feelings get in the way of solving this case. That had to be her priority. After this case was over, she would sort out her feelings for Booth. But not until the Night Stalker was arrested and brought to justice.

She pulled herself back together and finished the rest of her shower quickly. As soon as she got out, she would check her messages and see what they had found out. Then, maybe they would have some real evidence to go on and be able to nail the son of a bitch.

As soon as the door had closed behind her, Seeley slumped back down into bed. He put his hands over his face and took a deep breath in, trying to figure out what his next move would be. He wanted nothing more than to run to her and scoop her into his arms and assure her that everything was going to be okay. Even though he himself was not quite sure that it would be. But, even though that's what he wanted to do, he didn't know how she would feel about him being so affectionate.

Booth decided that the best course of action for right now was to let Bones deal with these issues she was having on her own. He knew that he could interrogate her and drag the issue out in the open just like he would with a suspect, minus the torture and pain. But the more he tried to make her deal with whatever was bothering her, the more she would push him away and not face her demons. He would just have to wait, be patient and as supporting as he could be until the killer was caught. Then maybe he could help her face some other very different issues that had been on his mind as well.

He rolled over and found himself lying face down on the mattress and caught a faint scent of her perfume against the sheets. He took a deep breath in and was intoxicated by the scent before reluctantly climbing out of bed. He started to make the coffee and laid his clothes out on the bed for after his shower. After a few minutes the coffee was ready and as he was pouring himself a cup, then Brennan came out of the bathroom.

"Want some?" he asked not realizing the tone he had in his voice.

"Excuse me?" she asked, self consciously pulling the white hotel robe even tighter around her.

"Coffee, Bones. Nothing else."

"Right, sure."

He poured her a cup and automatically added some cream and two sugars, just the way she liked it. Brennan felt her heart beat just a little faster at first and was a little surprised that he remembered the exact way she took her coffee, but decided to brush it off. They had been working together in such close proximity for so long that of course he would pick up little things like that. She was sure it was nothing more than that.

After carefully handing the hot mug over to her, Booth disappeared into the bathroom for his shower. Temperance decided that now would be a good time to check her voice messages and e-mails. The voice message on her cell of course was from Angela.

"Hi Bren, it's me. I wanted to let you know that Hodgins and Zack finished their analysis on the fibers you and Booth picked up from the crime scene. I do have to wonder what or who could be keeping you from answering your cell at this time of the morning. I hope you were doing something that I would approve of. Call me and fill me in on all the tawdry details. Bye!"

Temperance blushed at her friend's message. She hadn't meant to wake up in bed with Booth, it just happened that way. There was no way she was going to tell Angela about that though. She decided that she would go ahead and call her back after she got dressed. She didn't want Booth coming out of the shower while she was half naked. Or did she?

Brennan didn't get to return Angela's call until after they were downstairs having breakfast in one of the hotel's restaurants. They were seated at a table in the corner of the restaurant and it was fairly empty by this time so she thought it would be safe to make the call and not jeopardize her cover. After this they were supposed to head back to the FBI headquarters in Charleston and go over the latest developments in the case. Booth had stepped away from the table to use the restroom and she thought this was the perfect opportunity for her to make the call before Booth got back and could overhear a possibly embarrassing phone call for her. Angela picked up on the third ring.

"What have you go for me Ang?"

"What no good morning? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or is this a bad time?"

"No, I did not wake up on the wrong side of the bed. And it's a fine time to talk."

"I'm not interrupting anything? How is Booth by the way?"

"He's fine, and no you are not interrupting anything."

"What a shame."

"So, about those fibers?"

"Yes, they're car upholstery fibers. Specifically from a 2004 Ford F150."

"Thanks Ang. I'll let you know more when I have more information."

"Okay, stay safe sweetie. I'll talk to you soon!"

"Bye Angela" she said as she hung up the phone. Booth walked back up to the table and sat down.

"I called Angela. The results of the tests show that the fibers from the crime scene are from a 2004 Ford F150."

"That's good. I'm sure there aren't too many of those around here" he said sarcastically.

"At least it's a start. More to go off than what we had before" she said, optimism beginning to creep into her voice.

"We should get going."

He paid the bill and they headed out through the lobby. Booth sent for the valet to have the car brought around so that they could head off for the city. The drive back to they city was not as uncomfortable as it had been for the two of them on some of the previous drives, but Booth could still sense the wall that Brennan had put back up between them. Thankfully, now that they were both becoming more familiar with the area, the drive did not seem to take as long as it had before.

The morning had started off a little cooler and rainier than the previous days that they had been at Kiawah and Temperance decided to wear a light jacket. By the time they had arrived in downtown Charleston, she felt like she no longer needed it. After parking the car, Brennan asked Booth to pop the trunk so that she could put her jacket in there. When she opened the trunk she screamed and took a few steps back. Thankfully, Booth was behind to catch her as she stumbled back. She turned around in his arms burying her head in his chest. Then he got a good look at what was in the trunk of their car.

To be continued…

_Cliffhangers-don't you just love them? That's all for now-hope you enjoyed this last chapter. I'm sorry it got posted a little later than I had hoped, but I got distracted watching the Olympics. But it was worth it, my favorite is in the lead after the short program. I'll try to have the next chapter posted as soon as I can, but I work again through Saturday. So, look for an update sometime over the weekend unless things really go my way and I wind up with some more time off. Please review & let me know what you think. Thanks! _


	13. Chapter 12

_I know, I know. The way I left the last chapter was just plain mean. I'm sorry for the cliffhanger and for taking so damn long to update. Real life has completely gotten in the way, & I haven't had the time I normally do to update. This chapter is also a little more graphic than some of the previous chapters. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter and find out what was in the trunk of the car. Thanks for all the reviews-you guys rock! I (unfortunately) still do not own Bones. If I did, then maybe I wouldn't have to work as much and would have time for more stories!_

With Brennan clinging tightly to him, it was hard for Booth to get a good look at what had shocked and scared the hell out of her. He was afraid to move closer to the trunk for fear that she would have to see and relive the nightmare all over again. Finally he was able to move his head around hers and peer down into it. He couldn't believe what he saw in there.

They had found what he assumed to be the body of the missing girl. He couldn't be one hundred percent sure though, because there were a few differences between this crime scene and the others. Almost everything was the same except for two things. She appeared to have been murdered the same way as the Night Stalker's other victims. But, this time the body was not dumped in a remote area. This was the trunk of a car, not an abandoned building or out in the middle of a field. Secondly, there was a message on the body. The killer had carved a message into the girls' abdomen. It read YOU'RE NEXT. The Night Stalker's other calling cards were all there. The victim's hands had been removed and ALONE was written in the lining of the trunk in the victim's own blood.

As Booth wrapped his arms even tighter around her waist, Brennan seemed to realize what she had let happen. She had shown emotion in front of him-her partner, her coworker! Some may argue that it would be the reaction of any normal person. But not Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist. Death was a very real part of her job. This was not the first time she had seen a dead body. It was the first time though that one seemed to be addressed to her. From the message on the girl's stomach, Brennan was pretty sure she was the one who was NEXT. She spun out from the comforting embrace of Seeley Booth and wiping her tears away, turned back towards the FBI building and began to walk in it's direction.

"Bones? Where are you going?" asked her partner with concern in his voice.

"We have a murder to report Booth. What does it look like I'm doing?"

He ran across the parking lot trying to catch up to her as she quickly walked to the front door. When he finally got to her side he reached out and lightly grabbed a hold of her right arm spinning her back to face him.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

He had to admire the brave front she was trying to put on. It wasn't everyday that you become the target of a deranged serial killer and discover the body of the previous victim in the trunk of your car. He reached up with his other hand and ran his thumb over her cheek under her eye where the tears that she had been trying to hide from him had fallen.

"You don't always have to be so brave you know."

Her light blue eyes met his brown ones and locked for a moment. Then she looked down and away, embarrassed. This was a side of her that he didn't think he had ever seen before. Booth fought the urge to sweep her up into his arms and take her away from anything that would ever cause her for one moment to be unhappy. Then a plan began to form in his mind. He was not going to let her be taken by this serial killer. He would have to get her out of here and away from the Night Stalker. He would never be able to live with himself if anything were to happen to the woman he loved.

Oh. My. God. He was in love with Bones. As she looked back into his eyes again he knew that he had been for sometime. He just never had allowed himself to believe it. Ever since they had begun to work together he could feel the chemistry between them but had blown it off. Then Tessa had been in the way. But not now. Now, other than a crazy serial killer there was nothing standing in the way of his feelings and he wasn't going to let the Night Stalker take away his chance for happiness.

After what seemed like a lifetime but in reality was just a few seconds of staring into her beautiful blue eyes, he realized he hadn't said anything. She would wonder why. Could he tell her what he was really thinking? Booth decided now was not the best time to declare his love for her. In the middle of the sidewalk after just discovering a dead body in the trunk was not the most romantic of circumstances.

"Come on." he said to her taking her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers. "We have a murder to report."

As his hand took hers, he gave it a gentle squeeze and flashed her one of his killer smiles. Then he let go as they walked inside the government building and after holding the door for her, placed his hand protectively on the small of her back. And for a few moments at least, Temperance felt safer knowing he was here and would protect her from whatever was out there waiting for her.

After informing the FBI where the body was, a team was immediately sent out to investigate the crime scene and begin collecting any evidence before the body would be removed. Temperance wanted to go back out and examine the crime scene now that she had pulled herself back together, but Booth wouldn't allow it. He didn't go either. There was no way he was going to let her out of sight for even a second.

She didn't protest as much as he thought she would. The whole incident must really have jarred her. Booth knew what he had to do. Thankfully Agent Pernout came back into the office just then and Booth decided now would be a good time to let him know his plan. The two agents walked over to a corner of the room while Brennan was busy examining some of the case files that were splayed out across the table.

"Agent Pernout, Dr. Brennan is no longer safe here working on the assignment. I would like permission to move her to a safe house until the Night Stalker is apprehended."

"But, if she's there, how will we lure the killer out into the open so that we can catch him?"

"Well, you'll just have to figure that out on your own, I'm not going to put my partner in a dangerous situation like this anymore. I never should have agreed to it in the first place. She's not an agent and is not trained to handle a situation like this. There's a good chance she could wind up dead if she stays on the assignment. And that would be very bad for the Bureau."

"Okay Agent Booth. I'll make the arrangements. You can let Dr. Brennan know about the change in plans. I hope that this does not blow our only chance to catch the killer Booth. If he continues murdering innocent women because of this it will be on your hands."

"I understand sir. Send over any other information on the case to the safe house and the two of us will work from there. We will catch the Night Stalker, sir."

"Very well." Agent Pernout left to begin the preparations.

Relief washed over Booth as he made his way back over to Temperance to tell her what was going to happen. She was probably not going to be all too happy about being taken off the case, but it was for her own safety. As he sat down next to her, she looked over at him away and up from what she was reading.

"Bones we are not going back to the hotel. It's not safe there for you anymore. We're going to an FBI safe house where there will be more security and the location is better guarded."

"Booth we are so close to having the killer exposed. He wants me next. If I'm not there, then he will keep killing."

"With the latest victim, there should be more to go on. He dumped the body in a more secure area this time. Maybe there is even video footage. Also, we sent the sandals in to be analyzed. Maybe he left prints or something there. We are so much closer now than we were before."

He then realized that the last thing he said could take on a different meaning. He knew it did for him.

"I promised to keep you safe and that's not a possibility if you stay on the assignment. Please Temperance, for once, just don't fight me on this."

_He didn't call me Bones_ she thought to herself, surprised. _This is definitely serious_.

"Okay Booth. If you really think it's that important. But, I still want to be involved. Have them send over anything that's related to the case to the safe house."

"Already on it Bones."

Forty-five minutes later, they were being transported to the safe house. Booth and Brennan were in the backseat of an FBI van. They were not permitted to know the location of the safe house. Not anyone really was, just a small handful of agents on a strictly need to know basis.

Brennan seemed to be doing better after what she had witnessed this morning. As much as she didn't want to have to be protected, she was actually a little relieved to be out of reach of the killer. She was also glad she wouldn't have to pretend to be someone she was not, even though she would miss being Booth's pretend wife a little. It hadn't been too terrible of an experience. There were parts she wished she could change, especially that damn phone call yesterday afternoon. The binge drinking from last night and the cold shoulder from the day before she really wanted to take back. And as much as she hated to admit it, she really enjoyed waking up in his arms. He made her feel so safe even in the midst of everything that was happening around them.

She would definitely miss that once they were at the safe house and had separate rooms once again. _Damn Booth _she thought _I was doing just fine in my life until you came along._

The drive seemed long. Most likely due to the fact that they could not see where they were going. And with the two agents riding in the van that they didn't know, they couldn't really discuss much of anything. So they rode to the safe house in silence.

The van finally came to a stop about another half hour later. As they climbed out of the van, they took in the scene trying to place where they were. Neither was sure since they hadn't had much of a chance to explore. But they could hear the roar of the ocean in the backround and the air around them smelled of the ocean.

The safe house was a small two bedroom two bath condo inside a large complex. Booth was a little surprised at that since most of the safe houses he had seen were usually in remote locations. But, the other agents traveling with them assured them that the units surrounding the condo were actually owned by the FBI as well and they used them for surveillance. The location was definitely secure.

Since neither had any belongings with them (everything was still back at the hotel-save for Temperance's bag with her laptop), they went right inside and began to look around. The condo had a small kitchen, good sized living room, master & guest bedrooms. Each bedroom had it's own full bathroom.

"Bones you can have the master. I'll take the guest."

"Thanks Booth" she said trying not to let disappointment creep into her voice at the thought of separate bedrooms again.

As much as he didn't want to be apart from her at night either, he figured she would be happier being by herself again after having to share the hotel room and even a bed last night. But did he hear a trace of disappointment in her voice or was it just his imagination? It had to be his tired and overloaded mind playing tricks on his ears. There was no way she thought of him as anything other than a coworker or friend at best. Right?

As he looked at Brennan he saw how tired she was. Just then she tried badly to stifle a yawn.

"Go lay down Bones. Take a nap. I'll stay up and make sure the condo is secure. Don't worry. You're safe here."

"Thanks for everything Booth. I know I fell apart back there when the body was discovered and I want to let you know that will not happen again. I won't let it."

"It's okay to be scared sometimes Bones. Everyone has something they are afraid of."

"Even you?" she said sarcastically.

"Yes even me. Now don't laugh too hard, but I'm not the biggest fan of spiders." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. Then he felt better when for the first time in a while he saw her try to hide a smile and then burst into laughter at his secret.

It took a minute for her to compose herself again before she could ask "You were a sniper and now you catch murderers for a living and you're afraid of spiders?"

"All those legs! They creep me out! What do they really need all those legs for anyway?"

"It's evolution at it's finest Booth! After hundreds of years of changing and evolving-"

He cut her off before she could launch into a lecture on the evolution of arachnids over the centuries.

"Not now Bones. I don't want to think about it. Go lay down and when you wake up you can make fun of me again."

She decided to let it be for now, but would definitely have to bring this up again later-say back at the Jeffersonian in front of people he knew. Or maybe the next time she went to his office for a case. The other agents would love to hear this. They would give him so much shit for this and he would be the talk of the office.

She climbed into bed and as she lay there trying to fall asleep the image of Booth jumping away from spiders began to make her laugh again.

"I can hear you laughing in there Bones! Go to sleep!"

She rolled over onto her side and pulled the light blanket up around her. Thinking about Booth and his spiders was definitely a better image to fall asleep to than the one that kept trying to resurface in her mind from this morning. So she thought of that instead and tried to keep her laughing quiet so that he wouldn't hear.

_Author's Note: I'm not sure how the whole safe house thing really works and what kind of locations they typically pick, so I had to get a little creative. Hope it's not too blatantly wrong_. _The safe house is very similar to the condo I stayed in at Kiawah, but the safe house is not there, I decided to move them to some other small beachy community._

_Chapter finally finished. This one took me quite a bit longer. I hope it was worth the wait. It'll probably be a little while again before I can update. I start another 11 days straight of work Tuesday. Then I start my new job and my nights and weekends will free up a little more. Please review this chapter and let me know what you think. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed so far. I appreciate the support. It gives me something to look forward to after work. :)_


	14. Chapter 13

_Thanks for all the reviews! I'm hoping to break over 200 here & I think that's a good possibility thanks to you all. Unfortunately for me, still do not own anything that has to do with Bones (or DB even though I would like to!). Enjoy the latest fluffy chapter_ :)

Booth spent a good portion of Brennan's nap pacing back and forth throughout the condo. He wanted to know where everything was at and what security features were available if a need arose where he would need to use them. Hopefully he wouldn't have to, but he did not want to take any chances.

The condo was located on the ground floor of the three story building. The other two units on the same level were owned and protected by the FBI as well. One was the living quarters that the agents would occupy when not on duty. The other housed the surveillance equipment, cameras, computers and weapons.Besides Booth, there were three other agents assigned to guard the condo and it's occupants. There were always two guards in the surveillance unit at all times.

The safe house itself had a laser security system and motion detectors. A security code would have to be entered in to open any lock. A panic room was located inside the closet of the master bedroom behind a false wall that was designed to be impenetrable. Practically invisible cameras were planted at every almost every imaginable angle outside the condo.

Then, after making sure everything was secure, Booth decided to settle down on the couch and watch a DVD until Brennan woke up from her nap. The condo housed a wide selection of DVD's in every different category. A good thing since the occupants of the safe house were not permitted to leave. He settled on one of his favorites-_Gone In 60 Seconds_. Booth always had been a sucker for cars.

A short while later, Temperance awoke to the loud sounds she heard coming from the living room and decided to get up and investigate what was causing all of the racket. Booth was sprawled out on the couch. He had his arms stretched out across the back of the sofa and his feet up on the coffee table. Somewhere in the last few moments he had drifted off. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall watching him as he slept. He looked so cute when he slept. She almost hated to disturb him.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to put your feet on the furniture?" she asked.

A slow smile spread across her face as he jumped up startled by her. Immediately his feet flew off the coffee table and landed with a thud on the floor in the process nearly falling off the couch. Booth stood up and ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed to have been caught sleeping on the job.

Brennan tried to stifle another bout of laughter, but she couldn't. He couldn't believe she was laughing at him again. In the whole time he had known her, he didn't think he had ever seen her laugh so much as she had today which was really surprising given the way that they day had started. He couldn't help but join her.

After regaining control of himself again, Booth sat back down on the couch and motioned for Temperance to join him. She hesitated for a moment trying to decide where to sit. The couch was not very big, practically a loveseat. There was a large armchair on the one side of the room, but if she sat there, she wouldn't be able to see the television. The floor was ceramic tile and that would be rather cold and uncomfortable. So, she gave in and sat next to Booth on the sofa. Booth's arm was across the back of the couch, but he left it there after she sat next to him, not wanting to push her any further than she wanted.

As Booth tried to explain the plot of the movie and what all the different cars were, Brennan tried to pay attention. She didn't know a lot about Booth's personal life other than the small bits of information he shared every now and then. Hell, she hadn't even known he had a son for months after they had started working together. But, she now knew that he liked cars and was afraid of spiders. At least that was a start.

However, she was not all that interested in cars or the movie. This was definitely not the kind of movie she would prefer to see. Dr. Temperance Brennan actually was a fan of romantic movies. She figured that if she couldn't actually experience that type of love in real life, at least she could see it play out on film. She had always somewhere in the back of her mind, longed for a relationship like what she saw in those movies, but knew that would never be a possibility for her. So, she distanced herself from anyone who got close enough and stayed at home watching others have what she never would.

Thoughts of all this laid heavily on her already exhausted mind. As Booth went on and on about what made the cars in this movie classics, she felt herself begin to drift back off, the past few days still taking their toll on her. Half asleep her head found his shoulder again as it had in the very early hours of the morning and she lay in the crook of his arm. Booth carefully took the throw that had been behind his back and wrapped it and his arm around her, pulling her closer down to him. He kissed the top of her head lightly and tried to watch the rest of the movie without being too distracted by the woman he loved in his arms once again.

Just before he drifted off, he whispered quietly into her hair "I love you." And before he knew it, he had fallen asleep again too.

Temperance awoke slowly, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. How long had she been out for? The only source of light in the room was the TV screen which was now black and white static as the movie had finished running and the DVD player had shut itself off a while ago.

She had fallen asleep with him again. A routine she was quickly becoming accustomed to. Temperance found that she slept much better when he held her close. She felt safe and protected. Not to mention another very weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that she continued to try and brush off, but it was becoming more and more of a challenge every time.

Booth's head had drooped down as he slept and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. It kind of tickled. She had to to stop herself before she burst into uncontrollable laughter for the third time that day. He was snoring softly again just like the first night in the hotel. It was still cute.

Carefully she brought her left hand up to his chest. It hovered over his heart before lightly landing. Her ever so slight movement of course caused him to wake up. She was unable to remove her hand before he saw where it lay. Brennan looked away as she went to remove her hand from where it was comfortably resting. But, he wouldn't let her. Seeley immediately took his own much larger hand and covered hers with it. He looked down at her hand as he held her and noticed something that he couldn't believe he had missed.

She was still wearing the wedding ring.

"Bones, can I ask you something?"

"What is it Booth?"

"You might not like the question" he said "but I need you to tell me the truth. No scientific reasoning-just tell me straight."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Bones, why are you still wearing the wedding ring?"

She didn't know how to respond, so she just sat there staring at him. In all honesty she didn't know why she was still wearing the ring. It must be because she had forgotten to take it off. All the confusion of this morning must have overwhelmed her and she had been wearing it consistently since they began the assignment. A small voice in the back of her head nagged at her-_That's not it and you know it!_ _Know what?_ Brennan found the answer reflected in his eyes.

She loved him. So much. More than she thought she was ever capable of especially after her parents had disappeared. So many years ago she had told herself never to fall in love or risk being hurt the way she had been then. She would never let herself be so vulnerable even if it meant keeping anyone that could be someone important in her life out of it. For what had to be one of the only times in her life, she could not think of anything logical to explain to him why she was still wearing the ring hours after the undercover part of the assignment had ended.

In that instant before she could stop herself, Temperance was lost in the moment. Her eyes locked onto his and she found herself drawing closer to him. This time it was Booth who didn't move a muscle. He was going to let her come to him. It had to be this way. The decision to take things to the next level had to be hers. He knew what he had wanted all along, but would never push her into anything she didn't want to do. Millimeters away from his lips, she paused as if the scientist in her was rationalizing over what was about to happen. Still, even though it was killing him, Booth held his ground and stayed where he was. Then, her heart won the battle against her head and ever so gently her lips brushed against his.

When she realized he wasn't backing away from her like she thought he may, she deepened the kiss just a little at first. Then came the response that she had subconsciously been waiting all these monthsfor. She had given him all he needed to know when she kissed him. Finally, Booth reached his hands up to cup her face and drew her into him, kissing her back

Time seemed to stand still as if they were the only two people in the world who existed in that moment. There were no interruptions from the outside world and as they kissed, Booth & Brennan were able to forget the terrible circumstances that surrounded them just for a little while.

_That's the end…_

_Of this chapter! Of course not the end of the story-we still have the identity of the Night Stalker to be revealed. How will Booth & Brennan's relationship change now that they have kissed? Stay tuned to find out. Look for the next update probably before the end of the weekend. Please review & let me know what you think of this latest chapter-thanks! _


	15. Chapter 14

_200+ reviews! So cool! That's the most I have ever gotten for a story-thanks so much. Enjoy the next chapter-more Booth/Brennan. _

As much as he didn't want to, Booth had to back away from her before he let things go too far. But, he didn't know where all the security cameras had the lenses angled at and he definitely did not want to give the other agents a show. _Just another minute_ his inner voice said to him. He decided to listen to it at least for another few moments.

Brennan was a great kisser. That kiss had answered one of the many questions that he had about his partner. All the months of tension urged the two of them along. Now ignoring the little voice in his head, Seeley broke the kiss and leaned back, ending their heated make out session on the couch.

A look of confusion and disappointment spread across her pretty features. He saw hurt in her eyes and felt terrible for having put it there. He had to explain before he did any more damage.

"Bones" he started and took a breath. "I'm not really sure we should be doing this-"

She cut him off before he had a chance to get out what he wanted to tell her. Tears were already beginning to form in the corners of her bright blue eyes. She willed them to go away, but a stray one made it's way down her cheek. She was showing emotion in front of him again. This was not good. Something had to be done before she fell apart in front of him again. So, she did what she always did and began to rebuild her security wall back up.

"It's okay Booth, this was a mistake. I'm sorry I put a move on you. It's just that-"

He silenced her with another kiss, taking her by surprise and cutting out the long scientific reasoning speech about why this could never work between the two of them. This time she broke the kiss and leaned back from him. What she did next he would never forget. She looked him square in his dark brown eyes and slapped him across the face.

"Oww! That really hurt Bones! What the hell did you do that for?"

"I don't really know, it just felt like the right thing to do at the time. Why did you do what you just did?"

"What do you mean Bones?"

"I mean why did you kiss me again if you don't want to be with me?"

"What?"

"I said why did you kiss me again if you don't want to be with me?" she said even angrier this time.

"What makes you think I don't want to be with you?"

"You just said that we shouldn't be doing this!"

"You cut me off before I could finish my sentence. I was trying to say that we shouldn't be doing this HERE."

"We shouldn't be doing this here? I don't know what that means." Confusion was finally starting to replace the angry expression on her face.

"This isn't exactly the way that I had this moment playing out in my head you know Bones. When I thought about when you would finally kiss me, I never thought we would be hiding you from a deranged serial killer at an FBI safe house with agents watching and listening to our every move. Not exactly the romantic scenario I had envisioned."

"You envisioned romantic scenarios. About us?"

"Yeah" he said without hesitation. "Haven't you ever thought about it maybe even just a little?"

She looked down at her hands which were now balled up into fists in her lap. Brennan didn't know what to say. Booth was the only person on the face of the earth that could leave her speechless. Of course she had thought about the two of them. But, she never in a million years ever would have believed it to be a possibility. There were too many obstacles-Tessa, Michael, working together and spending a lot of that time working together arguing. And yet, here they were.

When she didn't say anything, Booth began to get worried. He brought his fingers up underneath her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. After he got her to look at him, he took his thumb and wiped away another stray tear.

"Come on Bones, give me something here. I feel I have shared quite a bit with you today. The least you can do is tell me what you're thinking. Even if it's regret I have to know. Just tell me."

She took a deep breath in. This was definitely not going to be easy telling him this. "Booth I have thought about us as more than partners. I've thought about it before here, but even more so since the whole Night Stalker ordeal began. There I've said it. Are you happy now?"

"So happy Bones!" And with that he leaned in once again for a quick kiss. This time she didn't push him away or slap him. He figured that was progress. "I meant what I said though. This place isn't where I want to go any further. We'll have lots of time to make up for things once we get back to D.C. So for now, let's keep things PG okay?"

"Okay."

Booth glanced down at his watch and noticed how late it was getting to be. "We better make dinner before it's time to fall asleep again."

Reluctantly he got up off the couch and pulled Brennan to her feet after him. What a relief it was to have that conversation over with. Now at least some of the awkwardness out of the way things could maybe get a little bit more comfortable.

"Do you cook Booth?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. What about you?"

"Not to save my life. I'm terrible."

"Come on Bones, you can't be that bad. Anyone can cook if they try."

"Not me."

"We'll see about that."

Booth spent the next forty-five minutes trying to put out the fires she was setting in the kitchen. Not metaphorical ones, actual fires. After, she let the oil get too hot in the pan and it caught on fire, she was banished from the kitchen. Temperance had a seat on one of the barstools on the other side of the counter outside the kitchen and watched as he made dinner.

By the time dinner was ready, they were both starved and quickly ate everything Booth had prepared. Booth of course had to mention the fact that there may not have been a dinner or a safe house at all if she had burned it down to which earned him a death stare and he backed off. At least for now, but he knew that the topic would have to be brought up again. Now he had something to hold over head in case she went public with his spider story.

After dinner, Brennan was allowed back into the kitchen and helped Booth clean up. Standing next to Booth at the sink, she loaded the dishes into the dishwasher after he rinsed them off. She wondered if this was what it felt like to be one of the normal couples she saw in the movies. Other than the serial killer after her and staying in a safe house, the evening seemed very blissfully normal. She liked having Booth cook for her and was even enjoying the process of doing the dishes with him.

By the time they finished getting the dishwasher loaded, Booth stifled a yawn. Then he looked over at her and she was trying to do the same. It was time for bed.

"Well, I guess this is good night" he said as they both stood in the middle of the living room feeling the awkwardness of earlier in the evening settle back in.

"I guess so, good night Booth."

He decided to go ahead and kiss her good night. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Good night Bones." He smiled at her and she shyly smiled back at him. Then, right before they each went into their separate rooms, Booth turned around and looked back at her. "If you need anything, I'm right next door."

"Thanks Booth. I'm sure I'll be fine. See you in the morning."

She changed into her pajamas, a camisole and satin sleep shorts. She laid in the dark and closed her eyes. Sleep soon overcame her, but it would not last long. Two hours later, a nightmare about the Night Stalker woke her up. She sat up in bed, breathing hard and looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was just after 1:00 a.m. She laid back down and tried to fall back asleep, but after this latest dream, there would be no going back to sleep for her.

After tossing and turning for another hour, she got out of bed and made her way out of the room and across to Booth's. Technically it was morning and she said she would see him then. As she opened the door, she once again admired how cute he was when he slept. He had the sheet pulled half way over his body and his bare, muscular chest was exposed.

"Booth" she whispered.

"Are you okay Bones?" he asked sitting up in bed.

"I'm fine. It's just, could you leave your door open? I had another nightmare and I would feel better if we both left our doors open."

"Come here Bones. You don't have to stay in there. You can sleep in here with me."

She contemplated this and decided she did sleep better with him in the same bed as her and finally crawled beneath the covers. She rolled onto her side, away from him and closed her eyes but she could still see the body of the girl in the trunk. She shivered.

Sensing this, Booth rolled over to where she lay and wrapped his arms around her stomach. In his warm embrace, she began to relax a little.

"I'm glad you're here Bones, you never know what kind of spiders you can find in places like this. Now, with you here, I feel safer. Thanks!"

She laughed and put her arm on top of his, taking his hand in hers. He kissed the top of her shoulder and they both fell asleep. This time without nightmares.

_The end for now. I should have more time to update this week as I have stated my new job where I won't be working evenings or weekends. Also, my ice skating rink took out Thursday night sessions, so I'll have another evening free to write. Look for the next update within the next few days. Please review this chapter & let me know what you thought. Thanks!_

_Author's Note – I can't cook to save my life either, so I'm sorry if the incident in the kitchen with the fire is not accurate. _


	16. Chapter 15

_Sorry for the long wait in between chapters, but I have busier than I thought I would be. I'm up at 5:00 a.m. every morning in order to fight rush hour traffic & get to my new job on time and I ice skate 4 days a week. Also have been fighting some writer's block, not to mention probs uploading this chapter. So, unfortunately, it maybe awhile between updates. Thanks for all the reviews & support-I really appreciate them. Keep it up! Still do not own Bones (sigh)._

_Author's Note – Didn't you just love Two Bodies in the Lab? It's definitely become my favorite ep. I'm still on a high from that! Can't wait for this week's new episode!_

Seeley Booth couldn't remember the last time he had such a wonderful night's sleep. Memories of the wonderful events of yesterday floated back to him in his dreams, drawing him back down into them. Bones had kissed him & admitted she reciprocated the feelings that he had been having for her. Not to mention they also had managed to elude the Night Stalker and Brennan was safe. He couldn't allow himself to sleep all morning, he had to wake up and see her and make sure that what he thought happened yesterday was not just a dream after all.

Slowly he opened his eyes and let them focus on the light of the room. He looked over at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that it was already after nine. They had really slept in. Then a terrible wave of anxiety rushed through his veins as soon as he noticed he was alone in the bed. Brennan was gone. Was yesterday just some dream that had played tricks on his tired mind? No, he was pretty sure that was reality. Then a worse thought occurred to him. What if something had happened to her in the middle of the night?

He sat straight up in bed and looked for her. She was nowhere to be found. Then he heard a loud crash and a scream come from somewhere outside the bedroom. Booth grabbed his gun off the nightstand and aimed it ahead of him as he crept out of the bedroom. He stayed close to the wall and looked for any sign that she was here, but he could find none. As he came closer to the kitchen, he finally saw what he had been looking for as a wave of relief washed over him. He lowered the gun back down to his side now that he knew she wasn't in any danger. Well, at least not from a serial killer. There in the middle of the kitchen, Brennan was crouched over trying to clean up what remained of a broken bowl. Pieces of glass along with milk and cereal were spread across the tile floor around her.

"Bones, what did I tell you about the kitchen?" he asked jokingly.

As she looked up at him, her cheeks flushed bright red and he thought she looked adorable.

"I didn't think I could screw up cereal but apparently I was wrong." She looked up at him clearly embarrassed by the mess that surrounded her. He walked over to her stepping over the pieces of broken bowl and put him arms around her waist and kissing the side of her cheek. "Booth, what's with the gun?"

"When I woke up and realized you weren't there, I got worried. Then I heard you scream and the loud crash and I thought you were in danger."

"The only thing that's in danger here is the kitchen. I told you there was no way I could cook."

"How about if I help you clean up and then we'll set breakfast out together, huh?"

"Okay you have a deal."

So, the two of them cleaned up the mess together. Surprisingly no more dishes were broken in the process of getting breakfast and the two of them sat down to enjoy their meal. The time passed in companionable silence with the occasional glance across the table to the other.

After they had finished breakfast & cleaned up (together-like the night before). Brennan went back to work. She booted up her laptop and began to sift through her e-mails seeing if there was anything that could pertain to the case. Just because she was no longer part of the undercover assignment, it didn't mean that she couldn't still help catch the killer. Then, Angela's bright & smiling face flashed up on her screen.

"Morning sweetie!"

"Good morning Angela. Any new information for me?"

"I barely get a hello and you are already on me about the case" she said pretending to have her feelings hurt. She knew her best friend well and this was not out of the ordinary behavior for Brennan. She loved her dearly, but sometimes the girl had no sense when to be more personable.

"I'm sorry Ang. How are you?"

"I'm good. How is Booth? I hope you two are getting along well."

"He's fine. We're getting along fine." She left it there, not wanting to explain to her best friend what exactly the situation was between her and Booth when she didn't exactly know herself. As soon as she figured that out, Angela would definitely be informed. Actually, she would most likely pick up on it before she would even have a chance to tell her. Angela was great at interpreting romantic situations. "Now what information do you have for me about the case? I want to get this guy-soon."

"Your sandals were almost clean from any kind of prints. We did find a partial. The boys are scanning the databases as we speak trying to find any hits."

"Any matches?"

"A few. Since it was only a partial, there could be many. We have ten so far and they still have about almost two thirds of the databases to check. None so far from the Charleston area or even anywhere in South Carolina. I'll let you know when we have anything else."

"Thanks Angela."

"We miss you Bren and want you to come home soon. The lab just is not the same without you."

"I miss you guys too. I'll be home as soon as we catch the Night Stalker. I'll talk to you soon." She ran her left hand up and through her hair. Then it came to rest against her forehead as she leaned her arm on the table. Then something shiny caught Angela's attention.

"Temperance Brennan what is that on your left ring finger?"

All of a sudden she remembered she still hadn't taken off that damn ring yet. It was getting her into all sorts of trouble. First she had to come clean about her feelings to Booth, which actually turned out better than she thought it would. Now, Angela was never going to let her hear the end of this.

"It's nothing. The web cam must have a glitch in it" she said taking her hand off her forehead and placing it back in her lap out of the view of the camera.

"That's a wedding ring and a nice one I might add. Platinum right?"

"I have to go Ang, call me when you finish running the print." Then she disconnected the call leaving her friend irritated and surprised on the other end.

Brennan sighed looking down at the ring and began to nervously twirl it around her finger. She realized that she wanted it to be there and did not want to take it off. And that scared her almost as much as the serial killer that had been after her, but in a whole new completely different kind of way. _What am I going to do?_ She asked her self as she sat alone at the table.

_That's the end of this chapter. I hope it was worth the wait. My new schedule is definitely crazier than I thought it would be with less free time than before. But, in a good way. No promise on when the next chapter will be posted, but I'm working through the writer's block and trying to learn how to balance my training with work and a small child. Bare with me! Please review-they do help to encourage the story. Also, any ideas you would like to see incorporated, let me know and I'll try to work them in at some point. Thanks!_


	17. Chapter 16

_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Sorry the last chapter was a little short-hopefully this longer one will help make up for it. Wrirter's block has dissipated (at least for the moment) & am back on track. Enjoy! Oh and Bones is still not mine, but I wouldn't mind owning Booth (or at least borrowing him for a little while)._

Brennan didn't realize it while she was on the phone with Angela, but Booth was watching her. Not in a creepy, stalker way, but more like he couldn't take his eyes away from her. She wasn't doing anything special, just chatting away on the webcam with her best friend. As he leaned against the wall into the living room, he couldn't imagine what had taken them so many months to admit their feelings for one another.

Then she had disconnected the call and was sitting alone at the table twirling her ring again. He thought this new little habit that she had picked up was adorable. He wondered of that's what she would do once he put a real ring on her finger. His eyes flew open wide at the thought. Did he really want to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her? They hadn't even gone on an official date yet. But there was that incredible kiss last night and he knew that they complemented one another well. As he admired her from afar, he knew the answer was yes. But what would she think? Before he made any decisions, he had to know that she was with him on this all the way.

Then, he couldn't stay away from her any longer. As Booth stepped into the room and approached her, Brennan stopped twirling the ring and looked up at him, blushing for the second time that day. She hoped he hadn't seen what she was doing before he walked in, but doubted it. Walking behind her, he placed his hands reassuringly on her shoulders and sweetly kissed the top of her head.

"Any news from the squints?"

"They pulled a partial print from one of the sandals, but they already have plenty of matches, and none of them are from around here."

"Dead end?"

"Maybe, we'll have to see. Maybe I've been hanging around you for too long, but for no logical reason whatsoever, I just feel as though something's not right."

"Bones are you using your gut on this one?" he asked shockingly amused.

"No, of course not" she said with all seriousness.

"Not even maybe just a little?" He flashed her one of his too cute to argue with smiles. The look she gave him could almost kill, but then she softened a little, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly. She got up from her chair and began to head into the kitchen to get a drink.

"Maybe just a little, but don't get used to it. I'm sure it won't happen again. Maybe I'm just a little thrown off after being hunted by a serial killer and being imprisoned here with you." She raised one eyebrow at him and dared him to argue with her.

"And I'm sure being stuck here with me is worse than being taken by the Night Stalker." He followed her into the kitchen, inching closer to her.

"I'm glad you realize it too." He knew she was baiting him. Booth had cornered her against one of the walls and his lips were now inches from her own. Finally he gave in and passionately kissed her and she kissed him right back, the heat of their discussion pouring into it. As he reached up underneath her tank top and felt the smooth skin on her back, she began to get goose bumps. She reached up her arms and placed them around his neck, relaxing into the kiss and running her fingers through his hair. That caused him to get goose bumps. After a few moments, they broke apart and he totally ruined the moment by coming up with a smart ass reply.

"Bones, it's pointless to argue with me. I'm always going to be right about certain things."

"Do you want me slap you again? Because I won't hesitate to. Or maybe I should just kick your ass." She pushed him around her and backed him into the wall, pinning him in the process. Her blue eyes locked with his and stared him down before kissing him passionately again.

As she leaned back, he whispered softly to her "Whatever you say Bones."

The surveillance team next door was catching the entire show live (one of the perks of surveillance work). This was definitely better than what normally went on in the safe house. Normally it was used to house people in the witness protection program and rarely ever more than one person at a time. And they were usually criminals who had leaked information that was vital to the prosecution. Not like the beautiful Dr. Temperance Brennan who was neither a criminal or in the witness protection program.

From what little they were allowed to know, they had learned that she was his partner of sorts and a threat had been made on her life. And that it was Agent Booth who had insisted on them coming to the safe house in the first place. Now they knew why. Anyone could see it. He was in love with her and was putting his personal feelings ahead of what was best for the assignment.

The agents in the neighboring units weren't the only ones who knew about this latest development. Agent Pernout had been hesitant to put Dr. Brennan into protective custody, but Agent Booth had convinced him it was the right thing to do. Now, he felt like an idiot. Booth had pushed so hard for the issue because of his personal feelings for her and compromised the assignment. No new breaks had been reported since the discovery of the body in the trunk. Agent Pernout knew what he would have to do and Agent Booth was not going to like it very much. He picked up the phone and called Booth's boss back in D.C. and filled him in on their current situation.

Agent Cullen found the call he had received from Agent Pernout to be disturbing. When he was first informed of the situation, he thought here was no way it could possibly be true, but after he thought about the last several months, he knew it was. He found it strange that Booth had kept wanting to work with the "squints" and had even taken on one of them as his partner. Dr. Brennan was certainly brilliant and good at her job, but Booth and Brennan constantly battled. Over everything. The only thing he could say about the two of them, was that they got results. Not on this case though. Pernout and now Cullen believed it was because they had gotten romantically involved. The FBI discouraged romantic relationships between their agents (not that Dr. Brennan was a member of the FBI). And it was forbidden to get involved with the person you were trying to protect.

When Booth had Brennan moved into protective custody, he became the agent in charge of guarding her. Pernout had called to let him know what the surveillance team had witnessed between them and had sent him the video feed. As Cullen sat there watching, part of him felt badly about what he had to do now. He thought Booth was a good agent and knew that this could send him over the edge. But it had to be done. He picked up the phone and began to make the call.

Booth had been going over the case files when his cell began to ring.

"Booth" he answered into the phone. "Hello sir. Calling to see what new developments there are on the case?" Silence. He got up from his spot on the couch next Brennan and began to pace the room.

When Booth didn't say anything for a few moments. Brennan looked up from her laptop. He looked pissed. She could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. His face was turning red as he tried to control his anger.

"Sir, I can't do that. That would be compromising the assignment. With all respect, sir, I can't let that happen." Then he hung up the phone.

Temperance got up from where she had been sitting and walked over to where Booth was still pacing back and forth. He had his head down and was deep in thought when she stepped in front of him. He stopped before he ran into her and looked at her with a fear in his eyes she hadn't seen before.

"What's wrong Booth? What did he say?"

_That's all for now! What can I say? I love the cliffhangers. Hope it was worth the wait. Sorry it wasn't a little longer, but I thought the cliffhanger was a good way to end the chapter. I'm not sure what the rules are about FBI agents and their charges being romantically involved, but I thought it probably was not allowed. Sorry if it's not one hundred percent accurate. Please review and let me know what you think of this latest chapter. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long with the next chapter. _


	18. Chapter 17

_Wow! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the previous chapter (and all the other chapters too). I hadn't planned on posting this until the weekend, but I was inspired by all the reviews. Was it the cliffhanger? Maybe I should incorporate more! Just kidding. Anyways, thanks again and learn what was said on Booth's phone call and what repercussions it will hold for Booth & Brennan. Must add general disclaimer here about not owning the rights to Bones._

He didn't answer her at first. Booth didn't know what to say. What Cullen had told him had knocked the wind out of him and caught him off guard. He was terrified for her. Just his luck as soon as they had gotten past the dance they had been doing all these months, something like this had to go and happen. He wasn't going to let her go. Not now.

"Booth?" Her light eyes focused on his as she tried to read his face. She reached up and brought her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her, gently at first, but then stronger as he realized what he was going to have to tell her.

"Bones, that was Cullen" he stopped short in the middle letting the rest of the sentence trail off, not really knowing how to continue.

"And?"

"And he knows about us."

"What's wrong with that? People are going to find out eventually Booth. It's going to be hard for me to tell people too you know." He pulled out of her embrace and sat down on the couch. She followed him and took a seat next to him.

"It's not a matter of telling people or who knows that we're together. It's that I broke a very big rule since coming here. FBI agents are not allowed to become involved with the charges that they are protecting."

"Well, it's a good thing that I can take care of myself then."

He took hold of her left hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "Normally, but since you are technically under my watch here, then I am the agent responsible for your safety."

"Not the guys next door?"

"No, not the guys next door."

"Okay, that's not a really big rule to break is it? I mean, it's not like you shot anybody."

"It is a big deal. Cullen said that I am no longer allowed on this case. He is pulling me out and sending me back to D.C. But, I'm not going. I won't leave you here Bones."

"Booth, you have to go. You could be fired or worse if you don't!"

"Temperance" She froze at hearing him call her by her real name. He only called her Temperance when things were really serious. He always called her that stupid and yet endearing nickname. "Nothing could ever be worse then being taken away from you. If anything were to happen to you and I wasn't here to stop it, I would never be able to live with myself. They can fire me or whatever else they want to try, but I am not leaving you!"

"Don't be an idiot Booth! I will be fine here. They have agents all over the place and surveillance everywhere. The Night Stalker has no idea where I am. As soon as this case is wrapped, I can come home and we can pick up where we left off."

"I know that if I leave, something will happen. Something always happens."

"I am not some helpless victim here Booth!" She realized she was yelling at him now and she didn't really care. Practically jumping off the couch, she put as much distance between herself and him as she possibly could in the small living room.

"Like it or not, Bones, someone wants to kill you!" He raised his voice, letting his anger and frustration out. He stood up as well and folded his arms across his chest, but didn't move towards her.

"It wouldn't be the first time and every time, I have come out fine in the end. I don't need you to protect me. I don't need this!"

Her harsh words hit him hard. It felt like he had been shot and his life was slipping away. Not just hjs life, but theirs. All of the doubts he had about their future together had been brought to the surface. Booth stared into her blue eyes but couldn't read them. Her security wall was back up, seeming higher than ever before. How could this ever really work if she felt this way?

Then, she turned away from him and did the only thing that she could think of to help her deal with the situation. She ran. Out of the living room and into her bedroom. Not the one that she had shared with Booth the night before, but the one she had been unable to stay in. She slammed the door behind her and crumpled down against the wall next to the door. Then the tears that had been threatening to fall since Booth had informed her that he was being taken away finally were released. She brought her hands up and covered her face, crying silently. She could not let him hear her.

Temperance hated herself for being vulnerable. And as much as it pained her, she was still terrified of the Night Stalker and now of Booth being taken away. Much like her parents had been all those years ago. This was bringing back all those awful memories and it was too much for her to bear. She had no idea what would happen to Booth back in D.C. He could be reassigned or discharged and sent away. She possibly would never see him again.

Booth walked slowly up to her door and leaned against the frame. He put his hand on the door and wished he could somehow reach her. God only knew what demons this was bringing up for her.

"Bones, Temperance, we need to talk. Come out of there. I can't talk to you about this through the door." He waited for a response, but got none. Only silence.

Then he heard the sound that he had been dreading since that phone call from Cullen. He heard keys turning in the locks on the front door and then beeps as the security system was disarmed. They had come for him already. _Damn they worked fast._

"They're here for me Bones. I'm not going without a fight. But, if anything happens to me, I want you to know that I love you." Fresh tears sprung to her eyes and fell down her cheeks as she heard what he was saying to her.

Pernout was there to bring him in and he wasn't alone. He had brought two other very large agents with large weapons with them. He knew that Booth wouldn't go easily.

They surrounded him from all sides and Booth had nowhere left to run. Seeley quickly punched on of the agents in the gut and while he doubled over in pain, the other tried to punch him in the face. He missed and wound up putting his fist through the wall that Temperance was leaning against. Thankfully she had been down on the floor and missed her head. But, if she had been standing, she wouldn't have been so lucky.

The other agent who had been punched in the stomach had recovered enough to pull a taser on Booth and as the strong current passed through his body, his last conscious thoughts were of the woman he loved. After falling to the floor unconscious, Booth was handcuffed and hauled out the front door by both of the larger agents. Pernout stayed inside with Brennan who had finally come out to see what had happened to Booth.

She didn't say or do anything as she watched him being taken away from her. Realzing first hand one of her greatest fears, she just let her tears fall as she turned back around and slammed the door to the bedroom, closing Pernout out as well. She leaned against the door and whispered "I love you too Booth" even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

For once in her life, Temperance didn't have an answer to this problem.

_That's all for now, thanks for reading! Sorry, not a lot of fluff in this chapter. What will happen to Booth now that he has been taken in? Will the Night Stalker ever find Temperance? Stay tuned to find out! _

_Author's Note: The more reviews, the faster the updates, just to let you know! Thanks! _


	19. Chapter 18

_Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!All thereviewsdefinitely help inspire future chapters. For those of you who have been reading along & haven't reviewed yet, give it a try-I'd really appreciate it! Also, Booth may be down, but he is definitely not out. I couldn't very well take one pf the pivotal characters out of the story now! Can't forget to mention that I do not own Bones or anything that has to do with it. Anyways, along with the story!_

Dr. Temperance Brennan was not a quitter. She sat in her room, alone and crying, for all of about five minutes until she realized that this would do nothing to improve her current situation. The only way she would be able to get back to Booth and get him out of trouble would be to solve the Night Stalker case and get justice for all his victims.

She got up off the floor and dried the rest of her tears. She was not going to give that bastard Pernout the satisfaction of knowing that taking Booth away had upset her. That would only further prove his point that if they were to get romantically involved, their working relationship would be forever changed and maybe even compromised. She checked her reflection in the mirror that hung over the dresser and deciding that she didn't look too much like she had been crying, opened the door.

Brennan needn't have worried. Pernout was outside on the porch on his cell phone. She quickly scooped up her laptop which had been left open on the table when the commotion broke of Booth's dismissal on the case. She felt like a kid again sneaking off, doing something she shouldn't be. Even though there was no reason for her to feel this way. Technically she was still an active part of the investigation and the sooner she solved it, the sooner she could get home.

So, Brennan decided that it must be her feelings of hatred for the FBI agent that was now guarding her. She really didn't want to have to talk to him. He wasn't even doing a very good job of protecting her sincehe was outside on the phone chatting away. Booth wouldn't have let her out of his sight for even a minute. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, she missed him and his over protectiveness.

She booted up the laptop again and conferenced Angela in on another call. Angela picked up right away and immediately noticed the change in her best friend, even before she could say anything. Her eyes were puffy and red. Brennan was clearly upset over something.

"Bren, sweetie, what's wrong? Did you and Booth have a fight? Because if you did, go out there right now and apologize! Do not screw this up! We have all waited too long for you two to finally get it on!"

"I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound very appropriate for the situation. Booth's gone Angela. "

"What? He left you? Wait a minute, that man would never leave you, he loves you."

"Well, he didn't exactly leave voluntarily. He was sort of arrested and then after being hit with a taser, hauled off unconscious."

"Oh my God, that's terrible Bren! Why did they do that?"

"Because of me. They found out about us and since I was in protective custody and he was apparently the agent in charge of me, he's not allowed to be involved that way with me. So, they pulled him off the case and when he refused, they had to take extreme measures. He attacked the agents that had come to arrest him."

"That doesn't sound good Bren. But, don't you think it's at least a little romantic that he would do all that for you?"

"Angela, he attacked fellow agents and was arrested."

"But he did it to protect you. He loves you Temperance! When are you going to open up your eyes and see that? I'm so happy for you two! Other than the part where he getsarrested."

She remembered what he had said to her before he was taken away. Those three little words that ever since her parents had disappeared she had been afraid to hear again. The same ones she thought she would never be able to say to another person and had completely taken her by surprise when she said them earlier. _I love you_. Because if she did say them, that would mean she could get her heart broken all over again. Was he really worth all that?

"Bren, are you still there? Hello?"

Brennan snapped back into reality. She must have gotten lost in her thoughts, forgetting who she was talking to for a moment.

"Yes, I'm still here. We can talk about this more when I get home." Then, sounding more and more likeherself she said"Do you have any more information on the case?"

"Actually, as you were calling me, I was just getting set to call you. We have a very likely match on the print on your sandal. It's not a perfect match, since the print was only a partial, but it's pretty damn close. He's a local. His name is Andrew Cooper. Twenty-two years old. His most recent ex-girlfriend had to file a restraining order against him. Apparently after she broke things off with him, he wouldn't leave her alone. He followed her everywhere and she had to have her numbers changed. Finally, after it got so bad, she moved out of the state. Brennan, guess where he is currently employed."

"The Sanctuary."

"You definitely earned your doctorate."

"Didn't the Sanctuary find any of this when he was being hired?"

"He was already employed when the harassment began. They can't fire him because of his mental instability."

"But I'm sure they can for murder."

"You bet. Guess when the restraining order was filed? Two months before the murders started. I'm sending you his picture now."

"Thanks Angela. I'm going to go talk to Pernout. Maybe we can get a warrant and have the guy brought in for questioning. Then I can come home and get everything else sorted out."

"I'll see you then. Don't forget, we still have an important conversation to finish."

"I'm sure you won't let me forget."

"Definitely not."

After signing off, Brennan closed her laptop and made her way out onto the porch to let Pernout in on the new information.

Special Agent Seeley Booth was finally beginning to regain consciousness. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the pain throughout his entire body. The events of what had happened this morning were slowly starting to come back to him. He sat up abruptly and the second he did, he wished he hadn't. Fresh waves of pain washed over his body and he felt like he might pass out again.

That was no longer important to him. He had to get to Bones. If he wasn't with her, the Night Stalker would be able to take her and he would not be there to stop him. He could just feel it. Call it instinct. His were usually pretty good (which he wasn't so thrilled with at the moment).

Booth took stock of his surroundings. He was seated in the back of an FBI van handcuffed. He vaguely remembered attacking the agents that had come with Pernout. Then the taser. After that, everything went black. He tried to remember what happened then, but it was pretty fuzzy. A nagging feeling kept eating away at his stomach that he was missing something really important.

He carefully replayed every detail of the morning from when he had first woken up to find her missing again, to the kissing, then the dreaded phone call that had changed everything and finally the argument that they had. Up to that moment, watching her walk away and leave him was the hardest thing he had ever been through. Up until he had been forced away from her shortly after that. He remembered telling her that he loved her, but didn't remember her saying it back. That had really hurt him. _What if she didn't love him? What if she regretted last night and this morning?_

Then his mind flashed back to after the fight and he remembered what it was that he was supposed to remember. Something that could put Brennan's life in danger. He had to do something now, before it was too late.

_Sorry-another evil cliffie! Please review so that I can get the next chapter posted quickly! Also, look for the story to begin to wrap up. I hope to have it completely finished by the time the season finale rolls out. Also congrats to the cast, crew and producers of Bones for getting picked up for another season. Glad to see that the network appreciates this wonderful show as much as the rest of us do!_

_Author's Note – I'm not really sure what the effects of a taser are on the human body, but I'm pretty sure they are quite painful during and after the incident. If I'm incorrect, please let me know. Thanks!_


	20. Chapter 19

_Sorry for the long wait in between chapters again, as usual, time is my number one enemy. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (new & those who have been reviewing all along). I really appreciate it! Lots going on in this chapter. Part of why this chapter took so long had to do with it's importance to the story. Enjoy this longer chapter and look for a big piece of the puzzle to be revealed. Oh and do not own the rights to Bones or David Boreanaz, but I keep wishing one day I will wake up and he will be there waiting for me! _

Brennan found Pernout where he had been before her conversation with Angela. He was still on the damn phone. He was sitting in one of the chairs at the table in the screened in porch, smoking a cigarette.

She hated smoking. It was such a disgusting and unhealthy habit. In college, she had picked it up for a little while, but then during one of her classes, she had seen first hand what exactly the effects of smoking were on the human body. It had made her sick (literally) and she never had touched another one.

Only after she had stepped directly in front of him and glared at him in her usual manner did he stop the conversation he was having and look up at her.

"I'll have to call you back" he said to the person on the other end of the phone knowing that she must have something important to say and would not leave him alone until after she did. "Yes, Dr. Brennan, what is it?"

"I have a break in the case."

"Please go on."

Temperance proceeded to tell him all that she had learned from Angela about Andrew Cooper and how he could be involved. Pernout listened to what she had to say and as soon as she finished he made another phone call. This one was to get a warrant to have Andrew Cooper arrested and questioned for the murders of all those women and to have his home searched for evidence. After he finished the phone calls he had to make, Pernout decided it would be safe enough to remove Temperance from the safe house.

"Dr. Brennan, if you would please gather any personal belongings that you may have brought here. I will be escorting you back to the Sanctuary where you will then be able to pack the rest of your things before your flight leaves."

"My flight? Are you sending me home?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"We now have a good lead on the case. And to be perfectly honest with you, I was not at all impressed by how you and Agent Booth handled the situation. Especially him. He knows the rules and he broke them. Completely unprofessional. If there is any further need for your help, we will let you know."

"And what about Agent Booth?"

"He is being dealt with. Now, please hurry. We don't have any time to waste if you wish to be on that plane back to D.C."

Temperance turned around and went back to her bedroom, sulking silently. She couldn't remember the last time she had been pulled off a case. If ever. And what about Booth? What would happen to him? Pernout's words kept ringing through her head as she gathered up what little she had from the safe house. She had never been called unprofessional before. Was this how it was going to with her and Booth as a couple? Would she be able to be his partner again when this was all over if they were together? Then a worse thought hit her. Would she ever even be able to see him again? He could be taken away from her and reassigned. How would she able to live with herself if she had ruined Booth's career?

Packing hadn't taken very long and within minutes she was ready to leave. She slung the bag containing her laptop over her shoulder and looked around the safe house one last time. Temperance couldn't believe that she was getting a little emotional over leaving a house. She hadn't been there very long and hadn't thought she would be all that sad to leave it and go home. But the idea that this was where her relationship with Booth had changed dramatically caused her to feel a little sentimental. It was yet to be seen if that change would be a good thing or a bad thing. Or maybe even a little of both. She tried to push the inappropriately timed feelings out of her head as she stepped into the late afternoon sunshine. Brennan's mind was a wandering mess as she climbed into the front seat of the truck and was lost in thought as Agent Pernout drove away from the safe house and back towards the Sanctuary.

Booth knew that he had to do something to get back to Brennan. Her life was in danger at this very moment. The thought of someone hurting her made him absolutely sick. One of the agents traveling with him heard Booth start to wake up in the backseat. He turned around and looked him in the eye.

"Welcome back Agent Booth. I hope the nap has given you some time to cool down." Booth recognized him as the man he had punched in the stomach. The other agent looked at him with a blank expression on his face.

"Where's Dr. Brennan? I need to get back to her. Her life is in danger as we speak."

"I'm aware of that Agent Booth."

Booth was too shocked to say anything after the words that the other agent had spoken registered in his head. He knew that Brennan was in danger and yet he took him away from her and left her? How could that be?

"Agent Booth, I don't believe we've had a chance to meet formally. So, let me introduce myself. I'm Agent Jack Kale from Internal Affairs."

"How is IA involved with all of this?"

"It's a long story, but I'll summarize and get right to the point. I have had Agent Pernout under surveillance for quite a while. We have good reason to believe that he is the Night Stalker. However, we haven't been able to catch him red handed-excuse the phrase. I have been keeping a close on eye on both you and Dr. Brennan since you have been in South Carolina."

Booth had to tell him that he had remembered seeing an F-150 parked outside the safe house as he was being hauled out. The same kind of vehicle that the fiber from the crime scene had come from. He hadn't been sure that it was the same exact truck, but felt it too much of a coincidence to ignore and let it go.

"You left her with the Night Stalker! Alone! Why?"

"We had to. She is still being closely monitored. We had to let him take her in order to catch him in the act. You were not lied to, that was the original plan for the undercover assignment."

"Except that I never would have agreed to the assignment if I had known that this killer wasn't just your normal serial killer, but an FBI agent with all the same training that I've had."

"But you did agree to it agent Booth and now, we may be able to catch him and get justice for all the women he has murdered. So far our plan has worked perfectly. He has left the safe house and is en route to the Sanctuary with Dr. Brennan."

He raised his voice again. "You let him leave with her!"

"Agent Booth, it is still day time. The Night Stalker only kills after dark, late at night, not in the middle of the afternoon. Dr. Brennan is safe for now and will continue to be safe."

"I want to see her."

"You'll be able to see her, but will not be able to have any contact with her until Pernout is apprehended. We will be on site, undercover, watching their every move."

"And if I cooperate, will the FBI look the other way as far as the situation at the safe house?"

"If that's what it's going to take, yes. After the assignment, Dr. Brennan will no longer have you assigned to guard her and technically, she is not FBI and is free to do what she wants. And if she wants to be with you, knowing what you do and have done, that is her decision and we will not interfere."

"Things can go back to normal? I will not be reassigned?"

"Correct."

Booth considered all this for a few moments. He would be able to be with Brennan if he cooperated. But, if he didn't she could get hurt before he could get to her. He didn't know that he would be able to protect her any better though if he went dark and out on his own. He decided to take the chance, figuring that if he had help, he may be able to save Brennan and their relationship.

The van headed in the direction of the Sanctuary. The next phase of the assignment was going to begin very soon.

_That's it for this update. Hope at least some of you were surprised by who the killer is. Just in case you are wondering, Agent Kale is the man who had been watching Brennan at the pool when they were first at the hotel. So, I hope I have wrapped up that loose end at least for now. If you don't remember the man at the pool, please reread chapter seven. Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Probably won't be able to post again this weekend (very busy practice schedule for the next four days). But, if I get a ton of reviews, I may be able to talk myself into squeezing some time in to update!_

_Author's Note – Please do not read this note if you haven't seen Two Bodies in the Lab and don't want the ending to be given away. If you have seen it or already know what happens, or just don't mind being spoiled, keep scrolling..._

_Keep going._

_And going._

_And going._

_Okay, so I know this sounds kind of like what happened in Two Bodies in the Lab, but I swear that I had the idea in my head for who the Night Stalker was going to be **way** before the episode ever aired. as much as I loved TBITL, I was a little disappointed when the killer was revealed. I considered going through and changing who I wanted the killer to be, but I never found another character better for the role. So, again, must state do not own Bones, TBITL or anything else really for that matter. Please don't hate me or think I've copied anything, because that was never my intention._

_Thanks again!_

_GG_


	21. Chapter 20

_Once again, I have to apologize for the long wait in between updates. I logged on this morning and saw that it had been two and a half weeks since I had updated this story. Time really gets away from me. Anyways, thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I was pleased to hear that not many of you expected Pernout to be the killer. This chapter may be a little harder to follow. It will flash back and forth between Brennan and Booth and what they are each doing and thinking. Anyways on with the story!_

Booth and Kale made it to the Sanctuary in record time breaking every imaginable speed law there was. But, they knew that Pernout and Brennan were already on their way and if they didn't beat them there, they would have not have time to get Booth inside and set up what they needed to catch Pernout and keep Brennan safe.

The security staff at The Sanctuary had been made aware of the situation. As unhappy as the hotel manager had been upon learning of what had been going on in his hotel, he knew he had no choice but to cooperate with the agents. They were going to do this no matter what he had to say. So, he decided to cooperate and gave them full access to the hotel.

Booth and Kale were led to the main security and surveillance site for the hotel and began to monitor the premises. More undercover agents began to arrive and as they did, were dispersed out into the hotel with pin cameras attached to their clothes and transmitters that would allow them to communicate with Kale who was running the assignment. Some were monitoring Andrew Cooper who it looked like was involved with the case as an accomplice. More would be on Pernout once he arrived. And of course some for Brennan too, if she would be separated from him.

Booth was given his gun and his badge back (both had been taken from him at the safe house once he had passed out). Booth was not allowed out into the field because Brennan and Pernout would immediately recognize him and the cover would be blown. He was forced to stay inside the surveillance room with Kale and help run the assignment from there. It killed him not being able to be by Brennan's side, but he knew this was for her safety. Now all he could do was watch the monitors, wait for their arrival and pray for her safety.

Brennan had nothing to say to Pernout the entire ride back out to The Sanctuary. What was she supposed to say? _Sorry I kissed one of your agents and cost him his job?_ How about _I apologize for nearly ruining a big undercover investigation? _Temperance was speechless, not something that happened often.

After what had seemed like an eternity had passed in uncomfortable silence, Brennan breathed a sigh of relief as the truck pulled into The Sanctuary's drive. After pulling up to the valet stand, Temperance got out of the vehicle and began to make her way to the entrance. Pernout came up alongside of her and grabbed her arm, bringing her back closer to him.

"Not so fast Dr. Brennan, I don't want Mr. Cooper to see you with me. It could put you and the investigation into more jeopardy than it already is. Do you still have the key card to your room?"

Brennan nodded at him that she did.

"Good, I'm going to go in through the front and start questioning him and the other staff members. I want you to go in through the pool entrance and back up to your room. Pack the rest of your things and wait for me to come and get you. Do not leave the room or open the door for anyone. Understand? Your life may depend on it."

She nodded again and Pernout finally released the death grip he had on her arm. Brennan watched him walk through the door and as soon as he had passed through the entrance, she looked down at her arm (which was now hurting) and saw that he had left marks on her light skin. She knew it would leave a bruise. Booth would flip when he saw that. Then reality hit her. Booth may not ever see it. He could be gone for good. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes again as she made her way back around to the pool entrance. _Pull yourself together Brennan_ she kept telling herself in her mind.

Booth's heart nearly stopped when he saw Pernout's truck pull up and Brennan got out. Then that asshole had the nerve to go and grab his Bones. The next time he saw the guy he knew he would have a hard time trying not kill him for that let alone all the horrible things he had done to those women. He was relieved to see that she seemed okay and he breathed a sigh of relief when the two of them separated. The agents that had been assigned to them each followed their respective charges inconspicuously.

Booth couldn't peel his eyes away from her as the cameras followed her throughout the hotel. Kale was watching the ones on Pernout. He saw her arrive back at their room and as she passed through the door, he knew he had lost sight of her for a while. Hopefully she would stay there where it was safe and Pernout wasn't around.

Finally she was back at the door to their room. The key still worked and as she walked into the room, she observed that everything was still the same as when they had left the hotel the day before. Had it really been only yesterday that they were here pretending to be a married couple? It seemed like years had passed since then.

She pulled her suitcase from inside the closet where it had been since they had first checked in and began to pack. After laying it on the bed, she went back to the closet and stared at the clothes hanging in there. Her clothes hanging next to his. It looked and felt so wonderfully normal and domestic. She twirled the ring on her finger and contemplated for how long she had known in the back of her mind that she really wanted this. A normal life with Booth. On some level she thought maybe all along. After her parents had disappeared, she shut herself off emotionally thinking that if she never opened her heart up again, she would never get hurt like she had been all those years ago. But then she had met Booth and as they worked together, he opened her back up to feelings she had thought were dead.

Now was not the time to dwell on those feelings though. She hurriedly packed what she had brought to the island. Then she decided to pack Booth's things as well. She didn't know if he would have a chance to pick them up, but she had nothing better to do anyway since she wasn't permitted to leave the room. Packing everything only took about an hour. Then she laid down on the bed trying hard not think about the last time she had been in it with Booth. But as her mind drifted further down into sleep, she could almost feel Booth's strong arms wrapped around her-protecting her-and finally gave in to sleep.

It was now very late in the afternoon-about 4:00 p.m. and Temperance didn't know it yet, but time was beginning to run out for her.

_That's all for now, sorry about the shorter chapter. It's a little bit of a filler to set up the next few chapters where more action will happen. Please review and let me know what you think. I will try and update in a more timely fashion and not let time slip away from me so fast like the last time. Thanks again!_


	22. Chapter 21

_OMG! The latest ep was really good wasn't it? I especially loved the end. I'm not going to say what for those of you who haven't seen it, but for those of you who have, you know what I mean! And the previews for the finale look so good! I'm counting the hours until then! I was also hoping to have story wrapped by the time the finale rolled around, but I didn't realize that was this coming week until I saw the previews. I'll try my best to have it as close to being done as possible. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed-please keep it up! I love to open my e-mail and see them all there!_

There were many aspects of catching a deranged serial killer that were challenging. Amplify that by the largest number you can think of and you will arrive at the situation that was facing Agents Booth and Kale. Pernout, also known as the Night Stalker, was an FBI agent too. A high ranking one at that who had served many years on the force. He knew every trick and scheme that they could come up with.

Pernout's instincts were so well refined that the surveillance team on him had to be changed out regularly to prevent him from becoming suspicious. Booth and Kale were running out of assistance. Pernout had to be watched at all times, but then so did Brennan and Cooper. Also, they didn't know who if any other accomplices he had. If anyone on the inside were to tip him off, then the cover would be blown and Brennan would die. If he became the slightest bit suspicious, Brennan would die. Booth's world as he knew it would stop. So he did the only thing he could at the moment. He continued to watch the monitors (especially the one aimed at her door) and helped run the agents in the field from the surveillance room.

As the hours passed by, Booth wondered if maybe he had been wrong about Pernout. So far he hadn't done anything to warrant bringing him into custody. But, in his gut, he knew Pernout was the Night Stalker. Booth's instincts were hardly ever wrong. He wished that just for once he could be and Brennan could come back to him and they could ride off into the sunset, a normal and happy couple. But, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

It was now after 8:00 p.m. and the sun was starting to sink down into the horizon. It was a beautiful evening and the sunset was spectacular. He wondered if Brennan was enjoying the scene from the balcony off of their room. The door hadn't moved since she had gone inside over four hours ago and it made him feel better to know that she was safe and locked in from the inside. Pernout would not have easy time if he tried to get to her. Booth knew that the Night Stalker only abducted his victims in the evening and that this could very well be the calm before the storm.

So focused on the monitors was Booth that when Kale's two way beeped, he nearly fell out of his seat.

"Agent Kale" said the hurried whispered voice on the other end.

"This is Kale" he said back.

"We've lost Cooper sir."

Upon hearing this, Booth jumped up and began to scan all the monitors, every few seconds glancing back over at the one aimed at Brennan's door. It was true, Cooper had dropped off every angle of the security cameras.

"What the hell?" he shouted back into the other end. "How did you lose Cooper?"

"I'm not really sure, sir, one minute he was there and the next he wasn't."

"No one saw where he could have gone?"

"No sir."

"Find him now!"

"Yes sir" the agent said sounding very afraid on the other end.

Kale turned back around to face Booth after the call disconnected. "Everything okay over there with Dr. Brennan?"

Booth barely glanced up away from the image on the screen. "No change sir. She still hasn't come out and no one has even walked by the door."

"Good. We'll find Cooper in no time at all. The entire hotel is under lock down. He won't be able to go very far."

What happened next played out much like a scene out of a very predictable horror movie. No sooner had the words escaped his mouth that the room went pitch black. Everything went out. The monitors, the lights, everything. With the power out for the entire hotel, all things electronic would fail to function, including the locks on the room doors. Except for the deadbolts. He knew Brennan well enough to know that there was not a chance that she would have locked the deadbolt on the door. As Booth sat in the complete darkness that surrounded him, his heart plummeted to his feet. This had been the plan all along. He had to get to Brennan before Pernout did.

Kale knew it right away as well. He used his cell to radio the agents detailing Pernout. But, it was too late. When the power went out, the agents had lost sight of him, if only for a moment, before the emergency lighting had kicked on. Pernout had planned this and knew what would happen. He was already on his way to Brennan.

Booth jumped to his feet and took off as fast he could to get to her. With the entire hotel cloaked in darkness, it made trying to get to Temperance nearly impossible. They hadn't been at the hotel long enough for him to know his way through it yet. He stumbled over a wire that was on the floor of the surveillance room and cursed out loud.

Kale was right behind him, pressing a flashlight into his hand and helping him up. Booth turned the flashlight on, drew his gun and set off in the direction of their room. Kale trailed him and called for additional back up. Booth prayed that they would reach her in time.

Brennan was still passed out, sound asleep, on the bed when all hell had broken out in the rest of the hotel. With being as exhausted from her ordeal as she had been, it would have taken a freight train barreling through her room to wake her up (or maybe one very gorgeous overly protective FBI agent). She hadn't heard the panicked screams from the other guests as the power had gone out.

Pernout had been waiting for the moment Cooper had cut the power. He was up immediately and made it to Temperance's room in record time. She had been sleeping so soundly that she didn't hear as the door to the room was opened and he crept inside. He hovered over her for a moment while taking out a handkerchief and adding some chloroform to it. Deep in her sleep, she could feel his proximity and began to awaken. Her eyes flew open and widened in surprise as his hand reached down and held the handkerchief firmly over her face, rendering her unconscious once again.

He stuffed the handkerchief back in his pocket being very careful not to let it or his hands anywhere near his face as it would knock him out too if either came in too close of contact. Then he scooped her up and fled the scene as quickly as possible. Pernout knew it wouldn't be long before the power was restored and the other guests could witness exactly what was going on. He took the stairs and hurried to one of the service exits where Cooper would have his truck waiting. Cooper had left the keys in it and was now on the run too. He wouldn't be going along with Pernout for the next phase of the plan. For what was going to happen next the Night Stalker always worked alone.

Brennan remained unconscious as she was lifted into the truck and laid her across the very small backseat. Then he climbed into the driver's seat and sped off down the drive that led out of the hotel. No one stopped him as he drove along the small two lane highway heading out from the island. Pernout knew that speeding and acting reckless would only lead to one thing-getting caught. And he couldn't have that.

About ten minutes out, he stopped the truck, got out and began to tie Temperance up. He restrained her wrists and her ankles, before finally handcuffing the two together. That way, if the chloroform wore off, she would be unable to fight back and get away. Then he got back in the driver's seat and calmly headed to his next destination where the fun would really start. As much as he loved the thrill of the abduction, he always enjoyed what came after it the most.

It took much longer than Booth would have liked for them to get back to the room they had once shared. The elevators didn't work of course and the stairs had been flooded with guests leaving their rooms to see what could possibly have shut the power off. Once they saw a small parade of FBI agents with guns drawn, the panic had worsened. More screaming had happened and even more guests emerged from their rooms to see what the commotion was.

Booth in the lead, was the first to enter the long hallway. He pointed his gun ahead of him and stealthily, but quickly, made his way down the hall. He aimed his other hand with the flashlight on the door of their room and felt his stomach flip flop when he saw it was wide open. He didn't even have to go in to know that he was already too late, Bones was gone.

_That's all for now. Sorry, I wanted to have this posted much sooner, but I had a sick child that wouldn't sleep to contend with this week. Hope it was worth the wait. I have lots of ideas for the next chapter (which I hope to have posted even sooner than this one), but would love any ideas from you guys on how you would like this to end. I already have an end tentatively planned, but would be willing to modify if something really jumps out at me. Can't wait for the finale this week, even though I probably will not have an end to the story by then like originally planned. Time is still my number one enemy. I am rallying for more hours to be added to the day, much like I'm rallying for the rights to Bones. But, I'm fairly convinced neither will ever happen. A girl can dream right? Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter and any ideas for the end. _

_Thanks again!_

_GG_


	23. Chapter 22

_Sorry this has taken me so long to post. Busy as usual. Thanks for the reviews of last chapter. _

_P.S.-Did everyone see ED & DB (and his son) on American Idol last night? They even had them on at the time that Bones is normally shown! _

Booth and the team of FBI agents entered the hotel room cautiously as they did not want to disturb any evidence that may lead them to Pernout and Brennan. He began to shine the flash light over the room scanning it for anything out of the ordinary. The small beam of light danced over the different parts of the room. They came to rest on the suitcases sitting next to the door. She had packed for him. He took a moment to appreciate her small gesture and would have to remember to tell her thank you if he ever got her back. _When you get her back_ he corrected himself. Just then, the lights flickered back on as power was restored to the hotel. Not soon enough. Pernout and Temperance were gone and nothing had been left as to point them in the direction they had headed. Booth sat down on the bed and let his head fall into his hands. A wave of pure defeat washed over him as he knew only sheer luck would get her back to him.

Kale came over to where Booth was sitting and told him the crime scene was wrapped and that they would need to get back down to the temporary headquarters and continue to monitor the hotel. Cooper was also still on the loose and would need to be found. Booth followed him back down trying to dispel the nausea that had hit him when he knew Brennan was gone. It didn't work and he found himself hunched over a toilet in the public restroom, vomiting up what little was in left in his stomach. Images of the women that he had murdered flashed through his mind. He thought of what Pernout had done to them before killing them and he got sick again. He couldn't let that happen to Brennan. Booth got up and went back down to the surveillance room more determined than ever to get her back.

Temperance was starting to awaken as the chloroform wore off. While coming to, her mind replayed the scene from which she was abducted. She forced herself to be still and keep her breathing even as she took in her surroundings. She was in the back seat of the truck only a few hours ago that she had been in going back to the Sanctuary. The restraints he had placed on her were terribly uncomfortable. She couldn't move a bit, even if she had wanted to. She thought of the other women who he had killed that were in the same position she now found herself in. None of them had been able to get away from him and he had raped and murdered them. Was that going to happen to her too?

She was unable to see where he was taking her to. That scared the hell out of her too. After what had happened to her on some of her previous travels, not being able to see where she was caused her to panic. She couldn't let that happen now. If Pernout sensed she was awake, she would be chloroformed again and not be able to think what her next move would be. If she stayed conscious, she could formulate a plan.

As the effects of the chloroform continued to wear off, Brennan began to notice something poking her in the ribs. Her mind, still a little foggy from the chloroform, tried to decipher what could be poking her. Then she remembered, she had placed her cell phone in the pocket of her jacket. Her cell phone! She couldn't believe it was still with her after being carried out of the hotel in such a hurry. She was sure the FBI would be monitoring it. If she could find a way to turn it on, then they could use it like GPS and find where she was at. But, first, she would have to be able to use her hands and get away from Pernout for a brief period. She began to put a plan into place and knew that if she could pull this off, Booth would be really proud of her.

Not too much later, the truck finally came to a stop. Pernout got out and opened the door to get Brennan out. He grabbed her out of the backseat and walked up the steps to the front door. The weak stairs creaked under the strain of two people coming up at one time.

Temperance did a very convincing job of pretending she was still under the effects of the chloroform. She stayed as still as she could as he dropped her into a chair. He knelt down in front of her and began to loosen the restraints so that he could tie her arms behind the back of the chair. She felt the handcuffs that had been holding her hands to her feet come off and the ropes around her wrists loosened. Then she brought her feet up with such force and kicked him in the jaw. Pernout went flying and as his head connected with the ground, he passed out. Blood seeped from his mouth down onto the bare floors of the old house. Brennan pulled her hands free and undid the ropes around her ankles.

Then she took off running as fast as she could away from the house. The street she was on was nearly deserted and very rural, there was no good place to hide. She ducked behind a tree and pulled out her phone pushing the speed dial button for Booth's cell.

He answered just after the first ring.

"Bones?" he asked hoping it was her as he hadn't even bothered to look at the caller ID.

"It's me Booth."

"Are you okay?"

"So far. Booth, it's Pernout, he's the Night Stalker!"

"I know. Listen, it's a long story how I know and I promise to tell you later, but where are you?"

"I'm not sure, I couldn't see where we were going, he had me tied up and laying down in the truck. I had to pretend to still be under the effects of the chloroform so that I could get away."

"You got away? How?"

"It's a long story that I promise to tell you later. Just come get me Booth!" His heart beat faster as he knew she was counting on him to bring her back home.

"Keep your phone on Bones and we can get your location. Right now, I want you to get as far away from him as you can, okay?"

"Okay." She began to run again. Kale had the other agents tracing her cell while they were on the phone. They would have a location soon.

"Booth, I hear someone coming, so I am going to have to say good bye, but I'll leave the phone on. I have to tell you in case I don't have the chance to later-" her voice wavered as she fought the tears that were once again falling.

"I love you Seeley."

"I love you too Temperance. I'll be there soon."

"Booth we have a location shouted Kale from the other side of the room. She's not too far from here."

"Let's go!"

The agents began to scatter as fast as they could to their cars and off to rescue Brennan. The sirens wailed and the lights flashed as the FBI headed out to rescue Brennan and apprehend the Night Stalker.

She slipped the phone back into her jacket pocket and ducked down into the tall grass hoping it would conceal her. She would stay here until she heard whoever was behind her pass and then she would keep going. It was unnerving that she could no longer hear them and wondered if maybe there wasn't anyone following her.

Until she felt someone behind her and then heard a loud crack then her head felt like it would explode and her world went black.

_Another cliffie-sorry! I may have to change the rating of this story to M as it will get more violent in the next chapters. There may even be some sex somewhere in there. Let me know what you think. Thanks! _


	24. Chapter 23

_Rating has definitely changed to M. Mostly due to adult themes and situations. Oh, and I saw I forgot to mention last chapter. I do not own Bones (that goes for this chapter, the last and any I might have missed in between. _

_**Warning-This chapter is a lot more graphic than I usually write. I was even cringing as I wrote it**. _

Booth had heard the loud thud as the baseball bat that Pernout had carried with him connected with Brennan's skull shortly after climbing into the SUV with Kale. She hadn't even screamed. She probably didn't realize he was behind her until it was too late. Thankfully, he still hadn't noticed that her phone was on and so they could continue to monitor where Brennan was at every moment.

Kale was driving. Booth still did not know the area well enough to be able to navigate the pitch black dark streets. He was on the edge of his seat barking out orders every few minutes to Kale to speed up. For every second that passed, Booth knew that could be the last one that she would draw breath. However, it was more likely that since he didn't know that the FBI was en route to pick him up, he was probably acting out his normal routine before he would kill her. He had to get to her before that happened. She had been taken from him already once today and he was not going to let that become a permanent situation.

Since leaving the hotel a light rain had started and had quickly turned into a steady pounding rain. The roads were wet and slick. The dark stretch of road that lay ahead of them was menacing. Giant puddles of water began to pool on the side of the highway. The weeping willow branches that hung over their heads dripped the water down onto the car windshield in fat drops. Visibility was practically nothing.

The relentless rain, crappy road conditions and lack of visibility were forcing Kale to slow down and Booth was pissed. Booth glanced over at the other agent and pointed to his watch.

"If I was driving, we would have been there already!"

"If you were driving we would either be hopelessly lost or have been in an accident. We will get there Booth! In the mean time, calm down! If I don't focus more on the road instead of your demands, we will still end up having an accident."

Almost as if to prove his point the SUV started to hydroplane a little. Kale gripped the steering wheel and was able to get the car back under control fairly easily. Booth didn't bark any other orders at him, but instead chose to glare every time he would step on the brakes a little. Booth tried to remember that if he were to be in accident, he wouldn't get to rescue Brennan and bust Pernout. They would be there soon, hopefully it would be in time to stop him from hurting her any further.

The walk back to the old house seemed to take a lifetime (really just a few minutes)for Pernout. When Dr. Brennan had kicked him, he had gone down hard. In the process, she had knocked out a couple of his teeth and maybe even broke his nose. His face had swelled up and he was having quite a difficult time breathing. The torrential rain that was now falling sure didn't help the situation either.

There would be no more taking any chances with this one. He had thought earlier that she was still passed out cold from the chloroform, but she was just playing him. As soon as she had seen the opportunity to flee she had. The others had tried to escape, but she was the only who actually had succeeded. Well at least for a little while anyway. He had caught her and she was all his again.

Setting her down in the chair again, she slumped over and would have hit the floor had Pernout not caught her. He lifted her back up and this time tied her down to the chair. Blood seeped from the wound on the back of her head. He had managed to hit pretty much at the base of the skull. Just to be on the safe side, he had decided to hit her with the chloroform again. She didn't move and her breathing slowed even further.

Once that was done, he began to prepare himself. He let himself into the bathroom and stripped off his wet clothes. He took a wash cloth out of the cabinet next to the sink and washed the blood off his face. He began to anticipate what would happen next. He felt himself begin to get hard at the thought of having Temperance. She had such a strong and demanding personality that told him she would be wild in bed.

As he approached, he put on the fresh pair of latex gloves and then removed the condom he had carried from the bedroom unwrapped it and unrolled it over himself. He was always very careful not to let any trace of his DNA be allowed to touch any of his women. That was part of why he hadn't been caught yet. He was always careful enough not to leave any evidence that would incriminate him behind.

Standing next to her, he brushed the stray hairs out of her face and ran his hand over the smooth skin of her cheek. He waited for any sign that she would wake up, but there was none. Maybe he had overdone it with the head injury and the additional chloroform. He moved his hand further down and began to undress her. He unbuttoned her shirt and stared for a moment at the lace bra she was wearing underneath before reaching out to touch it. She still did not stir. Nor did she when he unzipped her jeans and slid them down.

He could feel his erection begin to fade as he realized that she was not going to wake up. That pissed him off. He slapped her across the face and got no reaction. Then, he felt for her pulse and found it light. She was losing blood faster than he had thought she would through the wound on the back of her head. He would need to bring her around before she died. If she died now, that would ruin everything. He was supposed to be in charge!

Pernout really hated to break his routine. He always would have sex with the women before bringing his special electricity treatment on them. But, his body clearly wouldn't respond unless she was an active participant. He threw on a bathrobe and went to get what he would need for the next phase.

Booth and Kale were the first to arrive on the scene. The other agents would probably be another few minutes since they were further ahead of them due to Booth's persistence. The rain hadn't let up at all, if anything, it seemed to come down even harder. Both agents already had their Kevlar vests on and before the SUV even came to a complete stop, Booth was already climbing out of it. After parking the car, Kale quickly scrambled out and followed Booth.

He was on the second step that led to the door when he heard the wood creak under his weight. _Damn!So much for the element of surprise_ he thought to himself.

Pernout was almost finished getting the battery ready when he heard the unmistakable sound of his front steps creaking. He abandoned it and grabbed his gun heading to the front door to see who was there.

Booth finally had the visual he needed. Through the window he saw Brennan stripped down and tied up. He saw Pernout dash across the room with a gun in his hand. Booth fired a shot through the window and hit him in the shoulder. Being caught off guard, Pernout's weapon fell to the floor as he reached up to touch the wound on his shoulder.

Booth and Kale then came crashing through the front door. Kale went to Pernout and secured him and placing him under arrestas Booth went to Brennan. He immediately began to untie her and as soon as the last rope came undone, he scooped her up into his arms. She was unresponsive. As he cradled her in his arms, he noticed the red stain on his arm that was growing at alarming rate.

"We need a medic in here!" he shouted.

By that time the rest of the team had arrived along with an ambulance. The paramedics dashed in and began to asses Temperance's injuries. An oxygen mask was slipped over her mouth as they began to check her vitals. Booth held her the whole time.

As the oxygen began to take effect, her vitals began to improve slightly, but she would still need immediate medical attention for her head. She finally began to come around. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Booth. His dark brown eyes glazed over with tears when he saw her eyes open.

"You made it. You're here."

"Nowhere else in the world I would rather be. I'm not going anywhere."

"Good."

Brennan closed her eyes again and was back asleep. She was loaded onto a stretcher to be taken to the nearest emergency room. Booth was even allowed to ride along in the ambulance. No one in their right mind would have told him to leave her again. If they had, they knew it was a good possibility that he would shoot them too.

_This should be the last really violent chapter. Lighter stuff to follow this-I promise. My fictional serial killer is even starting to creep me out. I took out the trash in the middle of writing this chapter late last night, it was pitch black dark outside and I was afraid that someone awful like him was behind me and going to bash me in the head and abduct me (which is very unlikely, I live in a very safe, quiet and heavily populated neighborhood)._

_I also have a feeling that this is the last real chapter. I think the next chapter will be an epilogue. Please review! I'll try and have the epilogue posted sometime later today or at the latest tomorrow. (Hint: I'll post faster the more reviews I get!)_


	25. Epilogue

_For the last time (well at least in this story anyway) I do not own Bones._

Epilogue

After being rushed to the hospital in the ambulance, Dr. Temperance Brennan received the finest of care. The hospital doctors and staff always treated their patients with great care, but this time was maybe just a little different. It may have had to do with the fact that her overprotective FBI boyfriend was always there watching over everything and being very pushy. Anyone that knew him, knew that that was just Booth being Booth. Doing everything he could for the people that he cared about.

There was a lot to be done before she would be anywhere close to being able to go home. First the head wound needed to be attended too. Since it was located at the very base of the skull, they didn't have to shave too much hair to stitch the wound closed. You couldn't even tell when her hair was down and the doctors seemed optimistic that there wouldn't be much of a scar. She also had a concussion from the blow to her head.

The emotional trauma would be something altogether different. No one knew what if anything she would remember about what had happened to her. Brennan had been unconscious since the few words she had spoken to Booth before being transported to the hospital.

He hadn't left her side at all. He was sleeping in the same room (the doctors and staff had been kind enough to let him do this). He went with her for every test, including when they had to run a rape kit on her. That had been really painful for him to sit through, but he held her hand throughout the entire procedure. Even if she didn't know he was there, he could still be supportive. They all breathed big sighs of relief when the tests showed Pernout hadn't gotten a chance to rape her.

It was very early in the morning of her third day in the hospital when Temperance finally woke up. As her eyelids fluttered open, she took in her surroundings. She quickly realized she was in the hospital and wondered how she had gotten to be there. She looked down and was surprised to Seeley Booth's head resting in her lap. He had his arm curled up and her fingers were intertwined with his. She reached up with her left hand and began to gently rub her fingers in his hair. As she did, she caught sight of the diamond ring on her finger as it reflected the early morning sunlight streaming through the window.

"Bones? He asked his voice still thick with sleep.

"Seeley." A smile played over his lips as she called him by his first name.

"You're awake. I just can't believe it. How are you feeling? Let me call a doctor." As he reached to push the call button she reached out and stopped him.

"We can call them in a minute. Right now, I just want you here. No doctors, no cops, just us."

"Okay" he said tentatively.

She slid over on the bed as far as she could and motioned for him to join her. He climbed in and protectively wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest. Her left hand came to rest on his chest and he took it in hers. The ring caught his eye.

"After everything you still have it."

"Yeah, it's still here" she said beginning to twirl it around her finger again.

"It looks good there you know. It just seems to fit. Maybe you should consider keeping it." She looked back up at him with an expression of shock and panic. "Look Bones, I'm not saying we should go out and get married or anything right away. But, would it really be so terrible? I mean we did a pretty good job playing a married couple. Maybe one day we could do it for real?"

She let the thought pass through her mind as she looked at it again, now in a different light. He saw her features relax a bit as she looked back up at him.

"Yeah, maybe one day."

**The End**

_That's it! I can't believe this story is over. I have had such a blast writing this. I had such a good time in fact, that I would like to continue this story in a sequel if anyone is interested in reading another one. It will focus more on the Booth/Brennan relationship and how it will be affected by what happened on this case. Will Brennan have to explore her feelings of hatred on psychology? Will Booth & Brennan ever be able to have a normal relationship and will they ever get married? Find out in the sequel._

_Oh, and I wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed this story. Thanks so much for all your comments, praise and suggestions. I especially want to thank those that reviewed almost all of the chapters-canadianagurl, wolfmyjic, azarathangel, pagan-seijou, sidleidol03, tazitz, justawriter, tvspaz626 and so many others. Thank you so much!_

_You know what to do hit that button and let me know what you thought of the story and if you are interested in the sequel._

_Thanks!_

_GG _


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